The Bill Reid Foundation has gifted its entire collection of Northwest Coast art to Simon Fraser University. The collection consists of 158 works – including 112 masterworks by Mr. Reid – worth more than $10-million. Under the agreement, the foundation will continue to manage the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art in Vancouver.
The foundation also announced on Thursday a further $1-million donation from local philanthropist Michael Audain, who in 2007 donated $1-million to help establish the Bill Reid Gallery. The new donation is meant to sustain the gallery and enhance programming in Northwest Coast art studies.
“With assurance that the entire collection will remain intact and available to the public, we have the freedom to ramp up the delivery of new shows and develop more curatorial ideas,” Mike Robinson, CEO of the Bill Reid Trust and president of the Bill Reid Foundation, said in a press release Thursday.
SFU president Andrew Petter said the partnership will allow the university to expand its Northwest Coast art studies, “thereby broadening public understanding of the history and culture of B.C.’s aboriginal communities.”
