Introducing the First Nations artists behind our collection of Northwest Coast Native art prints
Adam Lewis, born in 1982 and raised in Cape Mudge Village (We Wai Kai) on Quadra Island, BC, is a contemporary Kwakwaka’wakw artist whose work bridges tradition and modern expression. Growing up in the southernmost Kwakwaka’wakw nation, he spent countless hours surrounded by the artistry of his community, nurturing an...
Calvin Hunt was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia, in 1956. As the son of the late Chief Thomas Hunt and Emma Hunt, he is a descendant from both the Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwagiulth) and Nuu-chah-nulth peoples. He is also descendant of the renowned Tlingit ethnologist, George Hunt. Hunt is largely known...
Doug Cranmer was born 1927 in Alert Bay, BC on Vancouver Island. Though he spent most of his early life logging and fishing, he also began to study carving under his step grandfather, Mungo Martin. However, it wasn’t until the late 50s that Cranmer became a full time artist when...
Born in Alert Bay in 1946, Eugene Hunt was the son of Chief Thomas Hunt and Emma Hunt. As a member of the Fort Rupert band of the Kwagiulth, he spent roughly four years carving at Thunderbird Park at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria in the early 1960s. At...
Francis Dick was born in 1959 into the Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw Band of Kingcome Inlet. She is a contemporary Native artist and member of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation. Francis descends from the supernatural Wolf, Kawadelekala. Kawadelekala was the first ancestor of the Kingcome people—an image that anchors much of her work and...
John Livingston was born in Vancouver, BC in 1951. He moved to Victoria early on, and this is where he developed a life long interest in Northwest Coast Native art and culture. He began a carving and design apprenticeship at the Royal British Columbia museum in 1965 under the tutelage...
Namgis / Mamlilikala artist Kevin Cranmer was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia, but has lived all but four years of his life in Victoria. Cranmer can trace his ancestry to the many nations of Kwakwaka’wakw people, as well as to the Tlingit of Alaska. His formal instruction came under...
Peter Dawson is a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation of Kingcome Inlet. Peter has been creating Native art since he was four years old and is well known for his limited edition prints and originals.
Rachel Smith (ai̓xcemǧa) was born in Nanaimo, B.C., and later moved to Vancouver, where she grew up and still lives. She takes pride in her mixed heritage. Her father’s family is Kwakwa’kawakw and Wuikinuxv, and her mother’s family is Greek. Rachel grew up watching her grandfather, father, and uncle carve...
Rande Cook is a Kwakwaka’wakw artist from Cormorant Island, off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. His grandparents, Gus and Florence Matlipi, raised him with strong cultural teachings. Surrounded by their guidance and the beauty of his homeland, he discovered his love for art early in life. He moved to...