Roy Henry Vickers, (born June 1946 in
Laxgalts'ap (now known as Greenville),
British Columbia) is a Grammy Award nominated
Canadian First Nations artist. He owns and operates a gallery in
Tofino, British Columbia
Tofino ( ) is a town of approximately 2,516 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The District of Tofino is located at the western terminus of Highway 4 on the tip of the Esowista Penins ...
.
Biography
Vickers was born on the
Nass River but raised in
Kitkatla,
Hazelton, British Columbia, and
Victoria, B.C. His father was a fisherman who was matrilineally
Tsimshian, also with
Haida
Haida may refer to:
Places
* Haida, an old name for Nový Bor
* Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands
* Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia
Ships
* , a 1 ...
and
Heiltsuk ancestry. His mother was a schoolteacher whose parents had emigrated from
England and who was in the 1940s adopted into the
Eagle clan
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, ju ...
at Kitkatla, B.C. (making Roy also Eagle). His grandfather was a Kitkatla canoe-carver. The paintings and works that he has created reflect this mixed heritage as his work has many elements of the traditional art of the First Nations peoples of the Pacific Northwest, but remains quite distinctive.
Vickers became interested in Northwest Coast art partly under the influence of the anthropologist
Wilson Duff.
His work has been the official gift of the Province of British Columbia to visiting foreign leaders several times. In 1987 the original of his painting ''A Meeting of Chiefs'' was the official gift to
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
and in 1993 artist's proofs of his print ''The Homecoming'' were the Province's gift to
Bill Clinton and
Boris Yeltsin.
Vickers has been the artistic advisor to several events in British Columbia. In 1994 he was the artistic advisor to the architects and designers of the
1994 Commonwealth Games
The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...
. For the Games Vickers also created more than 20
totem poles. Also, from 1987 to 1995, Vickers was the artistic advisor for the
Vancouver International Airport's new terminal. Some of his work is prominently displayed there for travellers to admire.
Once a substance abuser, in 1992 he created VisionQuest, a
non-profit organization designed to help individuals with addictive personalities.
Publications
Vickers has published several books which are collections of his art, and has illustrated many other works. Among these publications are:
*
*
*
*
*
He has also collaborated with
Lucky Budd on several children's picture books.
Awards
In 1998 Vickers received the
Order of British Columbia. In 2006, he was made a Member of the
Order of Canada.
Bibliography
* Jensen, Doreen, and Polly Sargent (1986) ''Robes of Power: Totem Poles on Cloth.'' Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
References
External links
Roy Henry Vickers' website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers, Roy Henry
1946 births
Living people
20th-century First Nations sculptors
Canadian male sculptors
20th-century Canadian male artists
21st-century First Nations people
Canadian contemporary painters
First Nations printmakers
First Nations painters
Haida woodcarvers
Heiltsuk people
Members of the Order of British Columbia
Members of the Order of Canada
Northwest Coast art
Tsimshian woodcarvers