Bill Reid

One of Canada's foremost artists, Haida artist Bill Reid, an outstanding gold and silversmith turned sculptor, was proclaimed a National Living Treasure and was instrumental in inspiring a people to reclaim their cultural heritage.

Collected internationally and much-honored, Bill Reid created, among his best-known sculptures, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. (The Black Canoe, 1991) and at the Vancouver International Airport (The Jade Canoe, 1996).

Building upon the broad range of his expression, Bill Reid translated his original designs of animal crests into limited edition silk screen or woodcut prints.

COPPER - Among the Northwest Coast First Nations, the ultimate symbol of wealth, power and prestige was (and still is) the Copper. A keystone-shaped shield made of beaten copper sheets and decorated with a crest design. They were worn, had names and their symbolic as well as their material values were very high. Its color, like that of the salmon, connotes wealth.