#35 • Claire Fejes "Achicha in Loon Hat" Oil Portrait

Part of December 2025 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $1,200.00

Status: Sold

Category: Art

An original oil painting by Alaska artist Claire Fejes (1920-1998), depicting a portrait of an Alaska Native drummer wearing a loon hat, noted as being Killiquivik of Tiagara Pt. Hope Tribe- a head drummer and patriarch of the village. Executed in simplified, block-like forms with strong contrasts of heightened color, the composition reflects Fejes’s Modernist style and her emphasis on dignity in everyday life. Fejes is celebrated for her "Sheshalik" (Sesaulik) painting series, created following her 1958 stay at an Inupiaq whaling camp. According to Feje's handwritten note on the back of this painting, an "'Achicha in Loon Hat' - Kelliquivik of Tikigaq Tribe, Point Hope. He is head drummer & patriarch of village - composes his own songs & made loon hat with owl feathers." Signed at the lower right and demonstrates some wear, as photographed. This piece is housed in a vintage frame, and measures approximately 23.5" x 19.5" overall, with a sight view of 19.5" x 15.5".