File:Dr. Maurius Barbeau portrait 1958 (cropped).jpg

English: It has been said that his head is a private museum filled with totem poles, hooked rugs, wood carvings, songs and legends. Now, at 75, with 45 years of fieldwork in folklore and anthropology, and officially “retired” as head of Canada's National Museum in Ottawa, he labors with his customary zeal and enthusiasm, arranging the rich treasures of his personal collection. To date this has involved the recording of some 5,000 folk songs, 100,000 photographs, 500 masks, and the creation of a private library of Indian legends and delights practically certain to break into one the many Indian dialects he knows so well. Born in a modest, scholarly Quebec village in 1883, Marius found an exceptional destiny, was a Rhodes Scholar, studying at Oxford in 1907 where he received a bachelor's degree in anthropology and the praise of his tutors. Returning to Canada in 1911 he joined the National Museum, where he remained for 47 years. By far his richest and most loved beauty, and fittingly, some of his closest friends have been among the most celebrated Indians and Canadians in the profession. The Indian masks to the right are part of his fascinating private collection.