Hagwilget by Robert Francis Michael McInnis
RFM McInnis
Hagwilget
oil on canvas
signed lower right
20 x 16 in ( 50.8 x 40.6 cm )
Price Realized $650.00
Sale date: April 14th 2024
Private Collection, British Columbia
The artist identifies the totem as Killer Whale, Moon and Bear. Many of McInnis’ students were from the area and he originally painted the totems for their benefit, “bringing some of their culture into the classroom.”
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Robert Francis Michael McInnis
(1942)
RFM McInnis was born in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1942. After receiving a Diploma in Fine and Applied Arts in 1961 he spent five years in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a photographer. "It was the nearest to making pictures I could do and still earn a living in those days". Thus began a career of traveling and painting. McInnis has lived and painted in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. These experiences have provided McInnis an opportunity to get to know the history, the people, the terrain, and the art scene of most of Canada. During his stay in Calgary in the late 1970's he was commissioned to do portraits of the leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party which currently hang in the National Headquarters building in Ottawa. In 2006 he relocated to the city of Winnipeg. On November 16, 2017, McInnis was elected a fellow of the Canadian Geographical Society, the Society noting that the honour is a “form of recognition given [the artist’s] remarkable travels in Canada and stunning landscapes.” The artist finds inspiration in the city's locations and landscapes and has completed a series of paintings of views from his studio window.
