REID TREASURE TROVE
Collector donates rare artwork to UBC.
Eleven pieces of early Bill Reid gold and silver jewelry described by University of B. C. Museum of Anthropology curator Bill Mclennan as “treasures” were put on display Monday at the museum.
The jewelry was donated to UBC by Dr. Sydney Friedman, 96, the former head of UBC’S anatomy department.
They were made for Friedman and his late wife Dr. Constance Livingstone- Friedman by the famed Haida artist between 1954 and 1974.
Friedman was a friend and early patron of Reid, whom he met in 1952 when Reid was working as a CBC news announcer and at a time when the artist had begun experimenting with European goldsmithing techniques in order to make modern motifs of traditional Haida art.
“This collection has outstanding significance not only as a representation of Bill Reid’s extraordinary early work — and the value of such material for the study of Canadian art history — but also in encompassing one collector- family’s relationship with the artist over a 20- year period,” Mclennan said.
Standouts in the collection — valued at more than $ 500,000 — include an exquisite gold bracelet featuring a raven with cut- out wings and feathers, a gold brooch and matching earrings, a hinged silver bracelet with an eagle motif and a silver picture frame engraved with a bear motif.
Constance “cherished wearing these beautiful pieces by our friend Bill and wanted the greater community to enjoy them,” Friedman said in a news release.
“I am very proud to make this gift because it honours one of Constance’s dearest wishes and because it also reflects our deep history with UBC,” Friedman said.
Both he and his wife were founding members of UBC’S faculty of medicine in 1950.
Friedman first met Reid in the early 1950s and commissioned him to make presents for his wife in 1952.
A number of these items were stolen in 1954 following a burglary and never recovered.
UBC’S Museum of Anthropology contains the world’s largest public collection of Reid’s work. The collection now numbers 250 items including carvings, jewelry, drawings, metalwork and sculptures.