BILL REID, O.B.C., R.C.A. (1920-1998) HAIDA
THE RAVEN WITH A BROKEN BEAK (DRAWING), 1982
 
graphite on pencil, 16.5 x 22.5 in (41.9 x 57.1 cm), framed
signed and dated, "Bill Reid - '82".
 
Bill Reid led the modern renaissance of Northwest Coast art, producing some of the most iconic and well-documented pieces including Raven and the First Man for the UBC Museum of Anthropology, the Killer Whale in front of the Vancouver Aquarium, and the Black and Jade Canoe for the Canadian Embassy in Washington and the Vancouver airport (also featured on the Canadian $20 bank note). The Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art in Vancouver is dedicated to showcasing his work and legacy as well hosting exhibitions of modern Northwest Coast artists and themes. Reid began as a master jeweller but shifted to monumental commissions with the growing demand and recognition for his personal work and for Northwest Coast art in public spaces internationally.
 
This drawing is one of ten created as illustrations for the book The Raven Steals the Light by Bill Reid and Robert Bringhurst (published in 1984). Five of the ten drawings, including this one, were also chosen for a portfolio of limited-edition lithographic prints.
Gary Wyatt
 
PROVENANCE
With Equinox Gallery, Vancouver;
Collection of John and Joyce Price, Seattle, January 1983.
 
PUBLICATIONS
Illustrated in Bill Reid and Robert Bringhurst, The Raven Steals the Light, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1984), p. 52.