The Hills Are Alive With Native Art!

While in Vancouver recently I had the chance to drop by Hill’s Native Art at their Gastown location. With five outlets in British Columbia, Hill’s is the largest Northwest Coast Native Art Gallery in North America, and has acquired the largest and most varied collection of First Nations and Inuit arts and crafts. They exhibit hundreds of works by emerging and internationally renowned artists that represents every Tribe and Nation of the Northwest Coast.

I was treated to three floors of some of the finest carvings and art that I have ever seen! There are masks, totems, bentwood boxes, sculptures, wall panels, feast dishes, talking sticks and much more by such artists as Susan Point, Jerry Whitehead, Jim Charlie and George Storry, to name just a few.

In addition to wood carvings they also have an extensive showing of hand-carved jewelry, baskets, drums, paintings, bead work and their famous Cowichan knits. They also have quite a large book section related to Native art.

Here are some photos of the carvings that are displayed there:

I have always had a fascination with the Pacific Northwest style so it was great spending some time here, looking at the carvings, pondering their meanings and style. It was more like touring a museum or art exhibit than a retail store but knowing that you could own any one, or more, of these pieces gave a deeper sense of appreciation. Though I never purchased anything I certainly had my eyes on a few items. 🙂

Back to the shop…