Tony Hunt Sr., Killer Whale
Tony Hunt Sr.
1942-2017
Kwakwaka'wakw
Medium Specific
Serigraph
Edition / State
122/125
Classification
Print
Accession Number
2016.35.20.287
Credit
Gift of John W. Brinley
Biography
Tony Hunt was born in August 24, 1942 at the Kwakwaka'wakw community of Alert Bay, British Columbia, and was the oldest of six sons of Henry Hunt and Helen Hunt. The youth received early training from his maternal grandfather Chief Mungo Martin. Through his maternal line, Hunt was a hereditary chief of the Kwakwaka'wakw.
His father was a professional woodcarver. Hunt and his brothers are also descendants of the renowned ethnologist George Hunt (Tlingit), who collected hundreds of Kwakwaka'wakw artworks for an exhibition at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Chief Hunt created Thunderbird Park with his father, Chief Henry Hunt, and his grandfather. Chief Tony Hunt also designed the Hunt Family Big House in the Royal B.C. Museum, which is a showpiece for the world and a place of pride for his people. His grand masterpiece is the KwaGulth ceremonial Big House at Fort Rupert – the largest traditional native structure ever built in the Pacific Northwest.
Chief Hunt has designed nearly 100 full-scale totem poles – more than any First Nation artist. Many of his works are celebrated monuments in countries around the world. Victoria’s sister cities Morioka, Japan and Souchow, China, both have poles carved by him as gifts from the people of Victoria. He also has works of art in international museums and in the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City and the former Canadian Embassy in Bonn.
In 2010, Hunt was the recipient of the Order of British Columbia. Chief Tony Hunt died in Campbell River on December 15, 2017.
(https://orderofbc.gov.bc.ca/members/obc-2010/2010-tony-hunt/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hunt_Sr., 2020)
His father was a professional woodcarver. Hunt and his brothers are also descendants of the renowned ethnologist George Hunt (Tlingit), who collected hundreds of Kwakwaka'wakw artworks for an exhibition at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Chief Hunt created Thunderbird Park with his father, Chief Henry Hunt, and his grandfather. Chief Tony Hunt also designed the Hunt Family Big House in the Royal B.C. Museum, which is a showpiece for the world and a place of pride for his people. His grand masterpiece is the KwaGulth ceremonial Big House at Fort Rupert – the largest traditional native structure ever built in the Pacific Northwest.
Chief Hunt has designed nearly 100 full-scale totem poles – more than any First Nation artist. Many of his works are celebrated monuments in countries around the world. Victoria’s sister cities Morioka, Japan and Souchow, China, both have poles carved by him as gifts from the people of Victoria. He also has works of art in international museums and in the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City and the former Canadian Embassy in Bonn.
In 2010, Hunt was the recipient of the Order of British Columbia. Chief Tony Hunt died in Campbell River on December 15, 2017.
(https://orderofbc.gov.bc.ca/members/obc-2010/2010-tony-hunt/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hunt_Sr., 2020)
Date of Bio