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 identity.
She earned a degree from the University of Victoria and began her career as a social worker before choosing to fully pursue her art. In 1985, she created her first painting, Kawadelekala, to honour her grandmother. After the death of her younger brother months later, she turned to art again—using Northwest Coast design as a path toward healing and self-discovery.
Dick exhibits internationally and speaks widely to community groups and universities. Her work appears in galleries and museums around the world. Alongside painting and printmaking, she works in gold and silver, and writes and performs in ceremony.