Bill Holm (art historian)
Encyclopedia
Bill Holm is a U.S. artist, author and art historian specializing in the visual arts of Northwest Coast Native Americans as well as a practitioner and teacher of the Northwest Coast art style
. He is Professor Emeritus of Art History, and Curator Emeritus of Northwest Coast Indian Art at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
and occasionally lectures at the University of Washington
in Seattle.
His 1965 book Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form has for decades been the standard introductory text in the field; it is currently in its 17th printing.
His students have included the Haida carver Freda Diesing
and many others.
His eight books have won scholarly acclaim and recognition with four Washington State Governor's Writers Awards, and two special Governor's awards. His achievements as an artist were celebrated in a 2000 book, Sun Dogs and Eagle Down, The Indian Paintings of Bill Holm. In 2001, he was honored with a certificate of appreciation from the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian
people of Southeast Alaska through the Sealaska Heritage Institute. The Native American Art Studies Association recognized him with its Honor Award in 1991. The University of Washington
honored him with a Distinguished Achievement Award from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1994 and selected him to give the annual University Faculty Lecture in 2003.
The Bill Holm Center at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
was named for him, and the University of Washington
annually gives out The Bill Holm Center Graduate Fellowship which funds students doing research and writing on Native art of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
In 1942 he became involved with Camp Nor'wester, a summer camp located in the San Juan Islands
of Washington State. It was through this involvement he and his wife Marty struck up a friendship with Mungo Martin
, which led to significant artistic accomplishments including the recording of hundreds of traditional Kwakwaka'wakw
songs, the construction of "big houses" and totem poles on Lopez Island
and John's Island
, many traditional masks for dances, four Haida style canoes, and more.
In 1953 he married his wife Marty, a highly skilled dancer well respected by the Kwakwaka'wakw people; they have two daughters, and each family member were given Kwakwaka'wakw names, a rare honor. British Columbia Provincial judge Alfred Scow, a Kwakwaka'wakw elder, said "[Bill Holm] has been a respectful student of our tradition, who took pains to learn Kwakwala. He is a very thorough art historian."
In 1962, a series of large paintings by Holm introduced Northwest Native motifs in the gallery of Northwest Coast art at the Century 21 Exposition
(the 1962 Seattle World's Fair
).
Northwest Coast art
Northwest Coast art is the term commonly applied to a style of art created primarily by artists from Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth and other First Nations and Native American tribes of the Northwest Coast of North America, from pre-European-contact times up to the...
. He is Professor Emeritus of Art History, and Curator Emeritus of Northwest Coast Indian Art at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture has been a Washington state museum since 1899. It is located at the University of Washington campus at the intersection of N.E. 45th Street and 17th Avenue N.E. in Seattle, Washington, USA, in the University District. It is the only major natural...
and occasionally lectures at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle.
His 1965 book Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form has for decades been the standard introductory text in the field; it is currently in its 17th printing.
His students have included the Haida carver Freda Diesing
Freda Diesing
Freda Diesing was one of very few female carvers of Northwest Coast totem poles and a member of the Haida First Nation of British Columbia, Canada....
and many others.
His eight books have won scholarly acclaim and recognition with four Washington State Governor's Writers Awards, and two special Governor's awards. His achievements as an artist were celebrated in a 2000 book, Sun Dogs and Eagle Down, The Indian Paintings of Bill Holm. In 2001, he was honored with a certificate of appreciation from the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian
Tsimshian
The Tsimshian are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Tsimshian translates to Inside the Skeena River. Their communities are in British Columbia and Alaska, around Terrace and Prince Rupert and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. There are approximately 10,000...
people of Southeast Alaska through the Sealaska Heritage Institute. The Native American Art Studies Association recognized him with its Honor Award in 1991. The University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
honored him with a Distinguished Achievement Award from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1994 and selected him to give the annual University Faculty Lecture in 2003.
The Bill Holm Center at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture has been a Washington state museum since 1899. It is located at the University of Washington campus at the intersection of N.E. 45th Street and 17th Avenue N.E. in Seattle, Washington, USA, in the University District. It is the only major natural...
was named for him, and the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
annually gives out The Bill Holm Center Graduate Fellowship which funds students doing research and writing on Native art of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
In 1942 he became involved with Camp Nor'wester, a summer camp located in the San Juan Islands
San Juan Islands
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of the U.S...
of Washington State. It was through this involvement he and his wife Marty struck up a friendship with Mungo Martin
Mungo Martin
Chief Mungo Martin or Nakapenkem , Datsa , was an important figure in Northwest Coast style art, specifically that of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples. He was a major contributor to Kwakwaka'wakw art, especially in the realm of wood sculpture and painting...
, which led to significant artistic accomplishments including the recording of hundreds of traditional Kwakwaka'wakw
Kwakwaka'wakw
The Kwakwaka'wakw are an Indigenous group of First Nations peoples, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the adjoining mainland and islands.Kwakwaka'wakw translates as "Those who speak Kwak'wala", describing the collective nations within the area that...
songs, the construction of "big houses" and totem poles on Lopez Island
Lopez Island
Lopez Island is the third largest of the U.S. San Juan Islands. Lopez Island is in land area. The 2000 census population was 2,177.-History:...
and John's Island
Johns Island (Washington)
Johns Island is one of the San Juan Islands in San Juan County, Washington, USA. It lies just east of Stuart Island and north of Spieden Island Johns Island is home to , a summer camp for kids on the west end of the island, and several private vacation cabins on the east end of the island. It has a...
, many traditional masks for dances, four Haida style canoes, and more.
In 1953 he married his wife Marty, a highly skilled dancer well respected by the Kwakwaka'wakw people; they have two daughters, and each family member were given Kwakwaka'wakw names, a rare honor. British Columbia Provincial judge Alfred Scow, a Kwakwaka'wakw elder, said "[Bill Holm] has been a respectful student of our tradition, who took pains to learn Kwakwala. He is a very thorough art historian."
In 1962, a series of large paintings by Holm introduced Northwest Native motifs in the gallery of Northwest Coast art at the Century 21 Exposition
Century 21 Exposition
The Century 21 Exposition was a World's Fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962 in Seattle, Washington.Nearly 10 million people attended the fair...
(the 1962 Seattle World's Fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
).
Works
- (1965) Northwest Coast Indian Art, An Analysis of Form. University of Washington Press, Seattle.
- (1972) Crooked Beak of Heaven. Index of Art in the Pacific Northwest, No. 3, University of Washington Press, Seattle.
- (1975) Form and Freedom: A Dialogue on Northwest Coast Indian Art (with Bill Reid). Institute for the Arts, Rice University, Houston.
- (1976) Indian Art of the Northwest Coast: A Dialogue on Craftsmanship and Aesthetics.(republication of Form and Freedom) University of Washington Press, Seattle.
- (1980) Edward S. Curtis in the Land of the War Canoes: A Pioneer Cinematographer in the Pacific Northwest. (with George I. Quimby) University of Washington Press, Seattle.
- (1982) Soft Gold: The Fur Trade and Cultural Exchange on the Northwest Coast of America. (with Thomas Vaughan). Oregon Historical Society, Portland.
- (1983) Smoky-Top: The Art and Times of Willie Seaweed. University of Washington Press, Seattle.
- (1983) The Box of Daylight: Northwest Coast Indian Art. Seattle Art Museum and University of Washington Press, Seattle.
- (1987) Spirit and Ancestor: a Century of Northwest Coast Art in the Burke Museum. University of Washington Press.
- (2000) Sundogs and Eagle Down: the Indian Paintings of Bill Holm, by Stephen C. Brown and Lloyd J. Averill. University of Washington Press.
Films
- (1973) The Kwakiutl of British Columbia. A film made in 1930 by Franz Boas. Edited and with notes by Bill Holm. University of Washington Press, Seattle.
- (1973) In the Land of the War Canoes. A film made in 1914 by Edward S. Curtis. Edited and with sound track directed by Bill Holm. University of Washington Press, Seattle.
- (1980) The Image Maker and the Indian. (with George I.Quimby) University of Washington Press, Seattle.
Sources
- Macnair, Peter L., Alan L. Hoover, and Kevin Neary (1984) The Legacy: Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art. Vancouver, B.C.: Douglas & McIntyre.