a photographic studio photograph of ' grey owl " wa-sha-quon-asin.
by howard coster. known as " the photographer of men "
bromide/ silver gelatin print.
1934
154mm x 177mm
a variant of this portrait can also be found in the permanent collection of the national portrait gallery, london.
grey owl ... wa-sha-quon-asin ... was an author and one of canadas earliest most influential environmental conservationists. he achieved massive international fame in the 1930's as an indigenous american advocating for wildlife protection. he claimed to have been born in an indian village on the borders of mexico and the united states of america. he claimed his mother was an apache, a member of a tribe famed for their fierceness. his father, the descendant of a scottish family named macneil, he had worked as a government scout. he married grey owls mother and settled down to spend the rest of his dats amongst the apaches. grey owl claimed he spent his early years as a plains indian, hunting and trapping with the braves. his claimed life story and legacy remains highly controversial because his entire indigenous persona was an elaborate fabrication that was only exposed after his death. grey owl was in fact born archibald stansfeld belaney in hastings, sussex, england, in 1888. he was raised by two of his aunts after having been abandoned by his father. as a child he developed an obsession with native americans.in 1906 at the age of 17 he moved to canada immersing himself in the northern ontario wilderness. belaney spent the winter of 1909-1910 trapping in the bush to the east of the south arm of lake temagami, where he learned how the temagami ojibwe managed their hunting territories by killing only the animals that they needed and leaving the rest to reproduce. it was here the ojibwe people taught him his outdoor survival skills. he dyed his hair, darkened his skin and wore traditional clothing. in 1915 during ww1 he joined the canadian army serving as a sniper, returning in 1917 having been discharged due to a wound in his foot and wrist.
grey owl returned to the wild abandoning trapping to protect the vanishing wilderness.in 1925 influenced by his partner anahareo. he focused heavily on saving canadian beavers from extinction and was appointed caretaker of parks animals by the national parks. he managed conservation programs at riding mountain and prince albert national parks.The transformation of Archie Belaney from a backcountry woodsman into the popular writer and public speaker Grey Owl wa-sha-quon-asin had begun. His concern, expressed in books, articles and public appearances, was the vanishing wilderness and the consequences of this for the creatures living in it, including man. His message was "Remember you belong to nature, not it to you."
in 1936 and 1937 he drew massive crowds on highly popular speaking tours across great britain.
in 1938 grey owl died of pneumonia in prince albert, saskatchewan at the end of a hectic american tour. his true identity as an englishman was exposed days after his death.
Recognition of grey owl includes biographies, academic studies, historic plaques in England, Ontario and Quebec, and a film based on his life starring piers brosnan as grey owl and directed by richard attenborough.
howard sydney musgrave coster ( 27 april 1885-17 november 1959 ) was a british photographer, opening a london studio in 1926. he was a self styled photographer of men, specialising in celebrity portraits, including a.a.milne with his son christopher robin milne and pooh bear, photographed at cotchford farm their home in sussex. t.e.lawrence "lawrence of arabia ", w.b.yeats, sir john gielgou, lawrence olivier, aldous huxley g.k.chesterton, charles laughton, benjamin britten, w.h.auden, christopher isherwood, gluck ( hannah gluckstein.), king george v, etc.
