When Bill Reid, one of North America's great artists, died on March 13, 1998, he left behind a legacy of magnificent art that drew deeply on that of his Haida ancestors. His work continues to be exhibited internationally and is in many private and public collections around the world.

This book celebrating the artist and his work was first published in 1986. For the updated edition, Doris Shadbolt has written a new chapter covering Reid's last years from 1987 to 1998, including his masterwork, the great bronze sculpture titled The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, as well as the moving details of his ceremonial Haida burial on Haida Gwaii.

In a long career, Reid embraced many art forms, driven always by a passion for the well-made, well-crafted object. This impulse, combined with his gradual rediscovery and rekindling of a rich Haida cultural heritage, informed and inspired his development as a visual artist of tremendous power and brilliant accomplishment. Lavishly illustrated with photographs of Bill Reid's major works and events from his life, this new edition features the addition of more than 40 colour photographs.

Doris Shadbolt’s long association with the museum world has included positions at the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of Ontario), the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, but chiefly she is known for her curatorial work at the Vancouver Art Gallery, where she remained for more than twenty-five years. She has authored and edited numerous books, including The Art of Emily Carr, Bill Reid, The Complete Writings of Emily Carr and Visions: Contemporary Art in Canada.

Doris Shadbolt's profile page

Bill Reid