PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the Artist by Arla Saare, a friend and co-worker of Bill Reid at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
By descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver

LITERATURE
Doris Shadbolt, Bill Reid, 1986, the 1984 bronze sculpture Killer Whale, in the collection of the Vancouver Public Aquarium, reproduced page 55, the 1971 Gold Box with three-dimensional killer whale on the top, in the collection of the Royal BC Museum, reproduced page 137 and the 1983 boxwood carving Killer Whale, in the collection of the UBC Museum of Anthropology, reproduced page 139

Bill Reid first studied European jewellery techniques at Toronto’s Ryerson Institute of Technology, followed by an apprenticeship in a platinum and diamond workshop. On his return to Vancouver, while still working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, he made jewellery in his home studio. His return to the coast stimulated his interest in his Haida ancestry and its art, and he applied his modern knowledge and fine craftsmanship to the expression of Haida designs in gold and silver. Reid was inspired by the masterful work of Charles Edenshaw, and some of his brooches were derived from images of tattoo marks drawn by Edenshaw and John Wi’ha. In 1962 he started his own jewellery business, producing many fine works, such as the 1971 Gold Box with a three-dimensional killer whale on its lid, in the collection of the Royal BC Museum. The killer whale was an important figure to Reid, who produced a number of images of it, including the monumental bronze sculpture Killer Whale, in the collection of the Vancouver Public Aquarium. Reid’s early work in gold is superb, and this exquisite 1966 killer whale brooch, produced using repoussé and texturing, is a stunning example.

This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the artist’s work compiled by Dr. Martine Reid, Researcher and Honourary Chair, Bill Reid Foundation.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars