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Norman Tait, Raven Holding the Moon

Norman Tait
1941-2016
Nisga'a
Date
1978
Medium Specific
Silkscreen
Edition / State
136/156
Classification
Print
Dimensions
21 x 17 in. (53.3 x 43.2 cm)
Accession Number
2018.35.20.358
Credit
Gift of Gloria and Selig Kaplan
Biography
Norman Tait's interest in Nisga'a art was sparked through the family traditions and oral histories that he experienced as a boy. He was the son of acclaimed carver Josiah Tait, and was the brother of Chief Alver Tait, who is also a celebrated Nisga'a carver. Norman went to a Residential School in Edmonton, AB, completed high school in Prince Rupert, BC, and then had a brief career as a millwright. In 1973, he established himself as a wood carver with the production and raising of the first Nisga'a pole in over fifty years, which he carved with his father. From that time, he carved a pole for the Field Museum in Chicago, IL, in 1982, a pole for Britain's royal family that stands in Bushy Park in London, and numerous poles around Vancouver. In 2012, Norman was given the British Columbia Creative Lifetime Achievement Award in Aboriginal Art. In addition to being a carver in metals and woods, Norman was also an expert on Nisga'a art and culture.
https://www.lattimergallery.com/collections/norman-tait
Date of Bio
Inscription
136/158, N.Tait, Sept '77