In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 1920
- Died
- 1998
- Birthplace
- Victoria
- Country
- Canada
- Nationality
- Not independently established
- Known for
- A Haida artist whose jewellery and monumental works joined technical innovation with the study and renewal of inherited artistic practices.
Why this life matters
A Haida artist whose jewellery and monumental works joined technical innovation with the study and renewal of inherited artistic practices.
Timeline
Key moments
Broadcasting, jewellery and a return west
Bill Reid was born in Victoria in 1920. He worked in broadcasting and studied goldsmithing in Toronto before returning to British Columbia in the early 1950s. His maternal grandfather, Charles Gladstone, provided a connection with Haida carving, while the work of earlier artists offered another route into studying its forms. Reidโs career brought those investigations together with metalworking skills, creating jewellery and later larger public works without making the two practices interchangeable.
Sources for this section: [1]
A small carving becomes a major commission
The Raven and the First Men began as a miniature boxwood work. In 1973 Walter Koerner commissioned a monumental version for the Museum of Anthropology. Moving between scales required models, specially prepared timber and collaborators. George Norris developed a clay model, while the final carving proceeded with a team that included Guujaaw, George Rammell, Jim Hart and Reg Davidson. These named contributions make the workโs production more accurately understood than a story of one artist carving alone.
Sources for this section: [1]
An artwork and a space made for encounter
The large yellow-cedar sculpture was dedicated in 1980. Arthur Erickson designed its museum setting to allow views around it and light from above. Reid died in 1998, leaving a career that connected jewellery, carving and public commissions. His contribution includes renewing artistic possibilities through technical experimentation and collaboration. The sculptureโs continuing public presence depends on that combined history of design, labour and setting, while the Haida story it invokes remains connected to a living culture rather than becoming an anonymous myth detached from its people.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Bill Reid
- What is Bill Reid known for?
- A Haida artist whose jewellery and monumental works joined technical innovation with the study and renewal of inherited artistic practices.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Rangi Hetet
Compare Rangi Hetet through the separate biography and evidence-led guide on this artistโs practice.
Sources and further reading
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