Mervyn Child
Mervyn Child (b. 1955) is an artist of Kwaguł, Tlingit, Nuu-chah-nulth, and British descent from the village of Tsax̱is (Fort Rupert), BC. Mervyn comes from a family of distinguished Kwakwaka’wakw carvers, including George Hunt Jr., Calvin Hunt, and Thomas Hunt, and is descended from George Hunt, the well-known ethnographer from Fort Rupert who collected objects and information for Franz Boas at the turn of the 20th century.
Mervyn primarily works in wood, carving and painting masks, feast bowls, and rattles. He also works on larger commissions carving monumental poles and canoes, often with members of the Hunt family.
Mervyn has a strong belief in the continuation of First Nations culture and spends time sharing his knowledge with Kwakwaka’wakw youth groups, teaching them the songs and dances of their heritage. As a knowledge keeper, self-taught Kwakʼwala speaker, and artist, Mervyn is involved in all aspects of his cultural heritage. Mervyn was initiated as a Nunsistalis in the Hamatsa Society at the memorial potlatch for his grandfather, the late chief Thomas Hunt.
His work has been exhibited in numerous commercial galleries and has also been acquired by public collections such as the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, the Lowe Art Museum, Florida, and by the Musée du Cinquantenaire, Bruxeilles.
