Phil Nuytten (1941-2023)

Often referred to as a “Renaissance man”, Phil Nuytten was a pioneer in many fields – underwater explorer and sub-sea engineer, inventor, marine archaeologist, tech manufacturer, businessman, songwriter, carver, author, native advocate, and avid collector. He was born in Vancouver in 1941 and developed an early interest in both diving and Northwest Coast Indigenous art. Phil’s entrepreneurial interests were supported by his parents, who backed him in his early carving and diving endeavours. He turned these passions into a successful career and sat on award and grant committees for several philanthropic diving and Indigenous organizations, as well as mentoring and supporting young ocean advocates and students. He received honorary doctorates from Queens University, Vancouver Island University, and Simon Fraser University. In 1992, Phil received the Order of British Columbia in recognition of his contribution to the economic well-being of the province and the recognition and support of the indigenous culture, and for making the province known beyond its borders as a leader in underwater high-technology. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2016 for his innovations in deep sea exploration. He was married to his high school sweetheart and beloved wife Mary for 58 years until her death in 2021. He continued to work, produce and collect until his death at the age of 81. (Read more here).

Robert Charles Davidson G̲uud San Glans (Eagle of the Dawn) born 1946

Robert Charles Davidson, G̲uud San Glans (Eagle of the Dawn) of the Eagle Clan, was born in Hydaburg, Alaska in 1946 and was raised in Old Massett, Haida Gwaii. His father, Claude Davidson, and Grandfather, Robert Davidson Sr., began Robert’s carving career in wood and argillite when he was 13 years old. He was majorly influenced by his great-grandfather Charles Edenshaw and his grandmother Florence Davidson who had 13 children, providing a large number of ‘aunties’ to whom Robert was very close.

It was necessary to move to Vancouver in 1965 for Robert to complete high school, and it was there that he learned to produce silkscreen prints. In 1966 he was demonstrating carving at Eaton’s Department Store where he met Bill Reid, with whom he would develop a lasting relationship. Robert moved into Bill Reid’s studio where the apprentice made his own tools and would learn the fundamentals of two-dimensional design, and worked with him for the next eighteen months. Bill Reid is credited as the connector or bridge between the works of Charles Edenshaw and Robert Davidson.

In 1967 Robert attended the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University) and was swept up in the 1960’s abstract and modern art scene. He enrolled in a jewellery course where he began experimenting with abstraction, which also influenced his print making. He taught for six months in 1968 at ‘Ksan, a reconstructed village near Hazelton, and in 1969 he returned to Masset where he carved and erected a forty-foot totem pole, the first to be raised in Haida Gwaii in almost a hundred years. During this time his reputation spread and he was regularly commissioned for poles, masks, carvings prints and jewellery in silver and gold.

Robert Davidson is best known for his thorough understanding and mastering of traditional Haida sculpture and design. He is celebrated for his fine craftsmanship as well as his understanding of Northern two-dimensional design. Widely recognized, Robert Davidson has won many awards including the Governor General’s Award for Visual Arts and the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement Award in the Visual Arts. He is the recipient of the Order of BC and the Order of Canada, and is the subject of the documentary Haida Modern. The Vancouver Art Gallery has held nearly twenty-five solo shows of Robert Davidson’s work, and his carvings, prints, paintings and jewellery can be found in major collections and institutions worldwide. Robert Davidson is the subject of the film Haida Modern which was released in 2019 and the 1969 pole raising is the subject of the recent documentary film Now is the Time.

"For the two years after the potlatch Children of the Good People, I was looking at my previous work and rehashing designs, learning the forms, but I was ready to move on. One of my teachers was a bentwood dish in the collection of the Glenbow Museum and in Robert Inverarity's book Art of the Northwest Coast Indians. The same artist (sometimes called "the Master of the Black Field") created the box featured in the Arts of the Raven exhibition and I was in the background listening to the heated discussion between Wilson Duff, Bill Reid and Bill Holm, who were mesmerized by the design. They were deeply analyzing the formline and I would shout from the background, 'There is no formline!' but I don't think they heard me. It would be years before I would understand what they were seeking. What I saw in this artist was the confidence to step outside of his comfort zone, with the skill and knowledge to do so. The artist would contain a shape like a box and he would introduce a new shape with in the shape. I realized that the art could go beyond the established conventions. I was inspired to experiment." Echos of the Supernatural page 103.

John Livingston (adopted Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl)
1951-2019)

John Livingston was born in Vancouver in 1951 but moved to Victoria when he was very young. He began carving at an early age at Thunderbird Park, Royal B.C. Museum. At the time Henry and Tony Hunt were head carvers at the museum and were instrumental in teaching Livingston to carve. After graduating from high school, he began a full time apprenticeship under Tony and together they opened Arts of the Raven Gallery. The Gallery was a major force in Northwest Coast Native art for over 20 years. Together Tony Hunt and John Livingston organized international exhibitions and the gallery workshop trained many of the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) artists working today.

John was a master carver and worked on many large totem commissions with Tony and Calvin Hunt, as well as executing totems and sculpture of his own. Besides his carving, he painted and produced over fifty limited editions prints. He was noted for his expertise in restoration, replication and appraisal of artifacts and collections of Northwest Coast materials. He also worked on major projects with Haida, Salish and Nuu-Chah-Nulth artists.

John Livingston was an adopted member of the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) Nation. Through his close association with the Hunt family, he participated in several large family potlatches and was given the rights to a number of important Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) dances.