Robert Davidson

Robert Davidson is a Haida and Tlingit artist born November 4, 1946, in Hydaburg, Alaska. His Haida name is G̲uud San Glans, meaning "Eagle of the Dawn." In 1947, his family moved to Masset on Haida Gwaii. Davidson comes from a notable artistic lineage: his father Claude Davidson and grandfather Robert Davidson Sr. were respected carvers, his grandmother Florence Davidson created traditional basketry and button blankets, and his great-grandfather was Charles Edenshaw (1839–1924), a Haida artist known for wood and argillite carving, jewellery, and painting. Davidson began carving at age 13 at his father's insistence.

In 1965, Davidson moved to Vancouver to complete his education at Point Grey Secondary School, where he learned silkscreening. In 1966, while demonstrating carving at Eaton's department store, he met Bill Reid, who became a friend and mentor, coaching him on sculpture and design for eighteen months. Through Reid, Davidson met anthropologist Wilson Duff and artist Bill Holm, who further developed his understanding of Haida art. In 1967, he enrolled at the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University of Art and Design).

In 1969, at age 22, Davidson carved and raised a totem pole in Masset—the first raised there since the 1880s. In 1977, he and his apprentices carved the Charles Edenshaw Memorial Longhouse, though this structure no longer exists. In 1984, he carved a Talking Stick for Pope John Paul II to mark the papal visit to Vancouver. In 1985, he carved three totem poles for the PepsiCo International Sculpture Garden, and in 1986 he was commissioned to create a painting for Expo '86 in Vancouver.

Davidson works in multiple media including wood, argillite, gold, silver, bronze, acrylic, and printmaking (serigraph, silkscreen, lithograph). He is a founding member of the Rainbow Creek Dancers with his brother Reg Davidson and a founding member of the Haida Gwaii Singers Society. His honours include the Order of Canada (1996), the Order of British Columbia, the Governor General's Award for Visual Arts, the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts, the Inspire Award (formerly National Aboriginal Achievement Award) in art and culture, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Victoria (1992). His work is held by the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Canadian Museum of History, the Royal British Columbia Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles. He lives and works in White Rock, British Columbia, and Masset, Haida Gwaii.