b. 1920, Victoria, British Columbia
d. 1998
First Nations Affiliation: Haida

Classic Haida sculptor and jewelsmith Bill Reid was one of Canada's pre-eminent international artists, known for innovations in materials and techniques and revitalizing Haida myths, while remaining faithful to traditional design principles . Reid trained in European jewel-making methods at the Ryerson Technical Institute of Jewelry in Toronto in 1948, and established a career as a radio announcer. Most important, however, was his apprenticeship with his uncle Charles Edenshaw, and grandfather Charles Gladstone, descendant of a line of Haida silversmiths and argillite carvers. Reid carried out commissions for a totem in London, England, a wood screen for the Victoria New Provincial Museum, and sculptures for the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver Airport, and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.. He has received honourary degrees from several universities, the Molson Award (1977) and the Lifetime National Aboriginal Achievement award.

R E C E N T   E X H I B I T I O N S

S E L E C T E D   C O  L L E C T I O N S

Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C.
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
University of BC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver Airport Authority, Vancouver, British Columbia

S E L E C T E D   B I B L I O G R A  P H Y

"Adriene Clarkson presents Haida master artist Bill Reid (Spirit of Haida Gwaii)." Kahtou News, 1, no. 6 (1 September 1992): 6.

"Airport sinks $3m in canoe The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Jade Canoe." (Vancouver) Globe & Mail Metro Edition, 12 May 1994, p. A8.

Anthony, Elizabeth. Review of The Black Canoe: Bill Reid and the Spirit of Haida Gwaii by Robert Bringhurst. Books In Canada 20, no. 9 (December 1991): 33.

"Artist Reid dies." The (Montréal) Gazette, 14 March 1998, p. A9.

"Artist won't give art to Ottawa in protest over rights of Natives." Toronto Star, 29 March 1987, p. A1, A4.

Bayless, Alan. "The big money in west coast Native art." Financial Times of Canada 82, no.4 (28 August 1993): 4-5.

"BC Native artist (Reid) scraps plan to build sculpture for (Washington) embassy." Winnipeg Free Press, 30 March 1987, p. 10.

Beglo, Jo Nordley. "Canadian art publishing, 1990-1993: An overview of monographs and exhibition catalogues." Art Documentation 13, no. 1 (Spring 1994): 19-26.

Bringhurst, Robert. "The Black Canoe (Excerpt from The Black Canoe: Bill Reid and the Spirit of Haida Gwaii)." Canadian Forum 70, no. 803 (October 1991): 19-21.

Bringhurst, Robert. The Black Canoe: Bill Reid and the Spirit of Haida Gwaii. 2nd ed. Seattle Washington: University of Washington Press; Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1992.

Canadian Museum of Civilization, ed. In the Shadow of the Sun: Perspectives on Contemporary Native Art. Hull, Québec: The Museum, 1993.

Cardinal-Schubert, Joane. "In the red." In Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation, eds. Bruce Ziff and Pratima V. Rao, 122-133. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1997.

Cardinal-Schubert, Joane. Time for Dialogue: Contemporary Artists. Calgary, Alberta: Aboriginal Awareness Society, 1992.

Duffek, Karen. Bill Reid: Beyond the Essential Form. Foreword by Michael M. Ames. Vancouver, British Columbia: University of British Columbia Press in association with the UBC Museum of Anthropology, 1986. [Catalogue of an exhibition held 15 July - 2 November 1986 at the UBC Museum of Anthropology]

"Haida artist championed Native rights." Globe & Mail Metro Edition, 16 March 1998, p. D2.

"Haida artist scraps work for embassy." The (Montréal) Gazette, 30 March 1987, p. A6.

"Haida spirit rides on in a bronze canoe (Canada's embassy in US)." National Geographic 181, no. 4 (April 1992): ii.

Hall, Edwin, Margaret Blackman, and Vincent Rickard. Northwest Coast Indian Graphics: An Introduction to Silkscreen Prints. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1981.

Harris, Christie. Raven's Cry. Illustrated by Bill Reid. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland and Stewart, 1973.

"He kept Haida art alive - Kozinska." The (Montréal) Gazette, 28 March 1998, p. J5.

Hoover, Alan L. "Bill Reid and Robert Davidson: Innovations in contemporary Haida art." American Indian Art Magazine 18 (Autumn 1993): 48-55.

"In the end, it's just a big cosmic joke." Vancouver Sun, 9 October 1993, p. D13.

Kowinski, William S. "Giving new life to Haida art and the culture it expresses: Robert Davidson and Bill Reid rediscovered their past with the help of anthropologists, old books, tribal elders and a common ancestor. Smithsonian 25, no. 10 (January 1995): 38-47.

Kritzwiser, Kay. Review of The Black Canoe: Bill Reid and the Spirit of Haida Gwaii by Robert Bringhurst. Quill & Quire 58, no. 1 (January 1992): 24.

MacDonald, George F. Haida Art. Hull, Québec: Canadian Museum of Civilization; Vancouver, British Columbia; Toronto, Ontario: Douglas & McIntyre, 1996.

Macnair, Peter, Alan Hoover, and Kevin Neary. The Legacy: Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art. Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1984. Originally published: Victoria, BC: British Columbia
Provincial Museum, 1980.

"Mourners gather to praise legacy of artist Bill Reid." Vancouver Sun, 25 March 1998, p. A3.

"An odyssey of mythic proportions: After a long and perilous journey, Bill Reid's The Spirit of Haida Gwaii will reach its destination Monday when a crane sets it in front of the Canadian embassy in Washington D.C.." Globe & Mail Metro Edition, 16 November 1991, p. C5.

"The raven and Bill Reid: The veteran west coast artist, who died last week at age 78, has been at the fulcrum of all the important debates about Native art and culture." Globe & Mail Metro Edition, 21 March 1998, p. C15.

Reid, Bill. Bill Reid. Produced by Penni Jacques, George Johnson, John Taylor and directed by Jack Long. 28 min. National Film Board of Canada, 1991. Videorecording. [Haida artist Bill Reid is filmed while he carves a totem pole in the Haida Indian fashion. The film shows the gradual transformation of a massive cedar log into a richly carved totem, and the raising of the pole by the villagers of Skidegate in the Queen Charlotte Islands]

Reid, Bill and Robert Bringhurst. The Raven Steals the Light. Preface by Claude Levi-Strauss; drawings by Bill Reid. Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1988; 2nd paperback ed., 1996.

"Reid sculpture set for Vancouver airport." Globe & Mail Metro Edition, 27 March 1993, p. C11.

Ross, CL. Review of The Spirit of Haida Gwaii. Canadian Materials 20, no. 6 (November 1992): 318.

"The spirit of Haida art holds his first solo show." Toronto Star, 3 November 1993, p. F1

"Spirit of Haida finds home in D.C. (Canadian embassy)." Winnipeg Free Press, 20 November 1991, p. A12.

"Spiritual awakening: Canada Post features a spectacular sculpture by Haida artist Bill Reid on its new Masterpieces stamp." Canadian Stamp News 20, no. 24 (16/29 April 1996): 1.

Steltzer, Ulli. The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: Bill Reid's Masterpiece. Foreword by Bill Reid; introduction by Robin Laurence. Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre; Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1997.

Stewart, Hilary. Cedar: Tree of Life to the Northwest Coast Indians. Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre; Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1984.

Trueblood-Brodzky, Anne, Rose Danesewich, and Nick Johnson. Stones, Bones and Skin: Ritual and Shamanic Art. Toronto, Ontario: Society for Art Publications, 1977.

"Unique vision lies behind launch of the Black Canoe: Spirited symbol of Canada graces Washington embassy (Bill Reid's sculpture)." The (Montréal) Gazette, 29 February 1992, p. K5.