Hello fellow collectors,
I just received word from a very reliable source that the Bank of Canada will have the
national unveiling of the new $20 note in the beautiful city of
Vancouver, BC - on Wednesday, August 25th, 2004.
I also know the design will feature an art work created by the late artist,
Bill Reid.
The following is some information about the late artist.
No other contemporary Northwest Coast artist has received the critical acclaim accorded William Ronald Reid .
Bill Reid was one of Canada's most celebrated and accomplished contemporary artists. His creations range from diminutive engraved gold jewellery to monumental bronze sculpture.
He worked in a variety of mediums, breathing artistic life into cedar, precious metals, bronze, argillite and ink on paper. Reid's reputation as an artist derives in part from the pivotal role he has played in the rebirth of northern art.
Reid held honorary doctoral degrees from Trent University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, the University of Victoria, the University of Western Ontario and York University. He was the recipient of many awards, among them the Canada Council's Molson Award ( 1976 ), the Bronfman Award for Excellence in Crafts ( 1986 ), the Vancouver Lifetime Achievement Award ( 1988 ), the Royal Bank Award ( 1990 ) for outstanding Canadian achievement, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Lifetime Achievement ( 1994 ) and the Bill Mason Award ( 1998 ) from the Canadian River Heritage Society. He received both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada.
Bill Reid passed away in Vancouver on March 13, 1998, after a long and courageous battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 78 years old. Bill Reid's legacy is the volume of extraordinary works of art that he created for public and private collections, as well as the works created by a generation of young Haida artists whom he inspired and mentored.
It seems to me a native theme will be honoured on this new $20 note.
Can't wait to see it!
Michael
