The spirit of Haida Gwaii
Subtitle: Bill Reid's masterpiece
By: Ulli Steltzer ; foreword by Bill Reid ; introduction by Robin Laurence.
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre; University of Washington Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Vancouver; Seattle, Wash
Language: eng
Number of pages: 61
Subjects: Reid, William, 1920-  -- Pictorial works; Haida sculpture -- Pictorial works; Haida mythology -- Pictorial works
Description: The artist Bill Reid, who is part Haida, is internationally renowned for his totem poles and other large pieces, as well as for his work on a small scale in silver and gold. His masterpiece, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, is a bronze canoe six metres (20 feet) long, filled to overflowing with the creatures of Haida mythology.

Ulli Steltzer's superb black-and-white photographs record and reveal intimate insights into the creative process of this sculpture, as well as the parts and the whole of this monumental work. The story of the sculpture and of its creator, Bill Reid, is engagingly related by Robin Laurence. And Bill Reid's own descriptions of the creatures in the canoe provide glimpses into the mythic complexity and power of The Spirit of Haida Gwaii.