Bill Reid immersed himself in Haida culture
Although Bill Reid’s mother, Sophie Gladstone Reid, was a member of the Kaadaas gaah Kiiguwaay, Raven/Wolf Clan of T’anuu on Haida Gwaii, he himself was raised worlds away in that last bastion of Western civilization, Victoria, B.C.
The oldest example of Reid’s work that exists, a miniature tea set he made at the age of 12 for his sister Peggy, shows both his influences as a child of Western culture and the “well-made” work ethic of a future master Haida craftsman.
In her new book, Bill Reid Collected, Martine J. Reid chronicles how her husband developed his unique style as an artist, respectful of Haida tradition yet intent on maintaining it as a living art form.
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