Robert Charles Davidson (born 4 November 1946), is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

artist of

Haida Haida may refer to: Haida people Many uses of the word derive from the name of an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. * Haida people, an Indigenous ethnic group of North America (Canada) ** Council of the Haida Nati ...

heritage. Davidson's Haida name is , which means "Eagle of the Dawn". He is a leading figure in the renaissance of Haida art and culture. He lives in

White Rock, British Columbia White Rock is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It is bordered by Semiahmoo Bay to the south and is surrounded on three sides by Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey. To the south ...

Life and work

Davidson is known internationally as a carver of totem poles and masks, printmaker, painter and jeweller. He lives near Vancouver, working out of a studio on

Semiahmoo First Nation Semiahmoo First Nation ( ) is the band government of the Semiahmoo people, a Coast Salish subgroup. The band's main community and offices are located on the Semiahmoo Indian Reserve which is sandwiched between the boundary of White Rock, Br ...

land and making annual return visits to

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...

. Davidson was born in

Hydaburg, Alaska Hydaburg ( ) (''Higdáa G̱ándlaay'' in Haida) is a first-class city in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 382 at the 2000 census and 376 as of the 2010 census. The name "Hydaburg" ...

. His parents are Claude and Vivian Davidson. Through Claude, he is the grandson of the Haida artist and memoirist Florence Davidson. He is a member of the Eagle

moiety Moiety may refer to: __NOTOC__ Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is divided ** A division of society in the Iroquois societal structure in North America ** An Australian Aboriginal kinship group ** Native Ha ...

, Ts'ał'lanas lineage. His younger brother and former apprentice,

Reg Davidson Reg Davidson (born 1954) is an Aboriginal Canadian carver and a member of the Haida band government. He was born in 1954 at the Haida village of Masset on the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia. His parents are Claude and Vivian Davidson ...

, is also a Haida carver. In infancy, Robert Davidson moved with his family to the Haida village of

Masset, British Columbia Masset (; formerly Massett) is a village in the Haida Gwaii archipelago in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Masset Sound on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of main ...

, on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). For high school, he moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

to attend

Point Grey Secondary School Point Grey Secondary School (), previously called Point Grey Secondary School, is a public secondary school located in the Kerrisdale and Shaughnessy neighbourhoods of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. History Designed by Fred Townley and M ...

in 1965. In 1966 he became apprenticed to the master Haida carver

Bill Reid William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) also known as Iljuwas, was a Haida artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year car ...

. In 1967 he began studies at the

Vancouver School of Art The Emily Carr University of Art and Design (stylized as Emily Carr University of Art + Design and abbreviated as ECU) is a public university of art and design located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1925 as the Vancouver Schoo ...

. In 1969 he carved and raised the first totem pole on Haida Gwaii in approximately ninety years. His works are included in the collections of the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

, the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

and the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Fr ...

. His style, which engages with both Haida and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

art history, has been described as "contemporary-traditional", reflecting an overlap of "community-based and outsider-orientated" artistic projects. A significant solo exhibition of his work, ''Robert Davidson: The Abstract Edge'', was organized by the

Museum of Anthropology This is a list of museums with major collections in ethnography and anthropology. It is sorted by descending number of objects listed. # Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada #: 3.75 million artifacts # Musée du quai Branly, Pa ...

at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

(UBC) for viewing at the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

in 2007. From November 2022 until April 2023 the

is presenting an exhibition with the title ''A Line That Bends But Does Not Break'', showcasing a collection of Davidson's graphic work, including paintings from private collections. Robert Davidson was the subject of the documentary ''

Haida Modern ''Haida Modern'' is a 2019 Canadian documentary film about the art and activism of Haida artist Robert Davidson. The film was directed by Charles Wilkinson, filmed, produced and edited by Wilkinson and Tina Schliessler and executive produced by ...

'', which premiered at the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

in 2019. He also appeared in

Eugene Boyko Eugene Boyko (1923 – March 14, 2003) known to many as "Jeep", was a Canadian filmmaker who worked with the National Film Board of Canada. An early film of his, '' Helicopter Canada'', was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feat ...

's 1970 short documentary film ''

This Was the Time ''This Was the Time'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Eugene Boyko and released in 1970. Created for the National Film Board of Canada, the film portrays the renaissance of Haida culture through its depiction of a potlatch ceremony in ...

'', and

Christopher Auchter Christopher Auchter is a Haida people, Haida artist and filmmaker from Canada. He is most noted for his 2019 short film ''Now Is the Time (film), Now Is the Time'', which was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Canadian Screen Award for Best Short ...

's 2019 short documentary film ''

Now Is the Time ''Now Is the Time'' is the second studio album by Alanis Morissette, released only in Canada on October 20, 1992. It was her final album for MCA Records Canada. Morissette recorded the album with Leslie Howe, who produced her debut album, '' A ...

''.Pat Mullen
"Now Is the Time for the Haida Renaissance: an interview with Christopher Auchter"
''

Point of View Point of View or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronoun used in narration * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or ...

'', September 29, 2019.

Awards and recognition

* Honorary

Doctor of Fine Arts Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA) is a professional doctoral degree in fine arts. It may also be awarded as an honorary degree. Description Doctoral programmes leading to DFAs in the UK are of equivalent level to a PhD, with the same requirement to demon ...

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

, 1992 * Honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

, 1994 *

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administe ...

, 1995 *

National Aboriginal Achievement Award The Indspire Awards, until 2012 the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, are annual awards presented by Indspire in Canada. The awards are intended to celebrate and encourage excellence in the Aboriginal community in Canada. About The award ...

, now the Indspire Awards, 1995 * Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, 1996 * Honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(D.Litt.),

, 2007 * Aboriginal Art Lifetime Achievement Awards, BC Achievement Foundation, 2007 * Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts,

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

, 2010 * Member,

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

* The Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts, 2010

Notes

External links

Robert Davidson official websiteDouglas Reynolds Gallery (Vancouver, Canada)Spirit Wrestler Gallery (Vancouver, Canada)

Kinsman Robinson GalleriesRobert Charles Davidson
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Robert 1946 births Living people 20th-century First Nations sculptors 20th-century Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century First Nations artists 20th-century Alaska Native people 21st-century Alaska Native people First Nations painters Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winners Haida woodcarvers Haida male artists Haida artists Indspire Awards Members of the Order of British Columbia Officers of the Order of Canada Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Northwest Coast art Totem pole carvers People from White Rock, British Columbia

Life and work

Awards and recognition

Notes

Further reading

External links