Richard Sumner

Country/Region: Northwest Coast (view other artists)

Tribe: Kwakwaka'wakw

Richard Sumner (b. 1956) was born and raised in Alert Bay on Cormorant Island just off the coast of Vancouver Island, BC. Richard began carving at the age of 18, experimenting with different traditional forms. In the summer of 1978, Richard had the good fortune to apprentice with Doug Cranmer. As part of the artistic team chosen to carve the beams and planks for the Big House of the U'Mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay Richard refined his skills.

Richard moved to Vancouver, BC in the early 80's to work on several commissions including the carving of a replacement Wakas pole for Brockton Point in Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC. Richard carves masks, totem poles, bowls rattles, and spoons, but is renowned for his superb bentwood boxes.

A featured artist in several group shows at the Gallery of Tribal art in Vancouver, BC, his work can be found in collections at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC; and in several corporate and private collections in Canada, the US, Japan, and Europe.

In 1998, Richard was commissioned to replicate a bentwood box from the collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York; the original box was a favorite of the famed Haida artist Bill Reid. This new piece was created to contain the ashes.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

1996 Above and Beyond, Derek Simpkins Gallery of Tribal Art, Vancouver, BC

1997 Boxes and Bowls, Derek Simpkins Gallery of Tribal Art, Vancouver, BC

2000 Tribal Miniatures '00, annual exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2000 Resonance, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

2000 Time and Tide, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC

2003 In Celebration of the Feast, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2010 Giving Traditions, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2010 Garamuts, Tifa, and Tambourines: Drums of the Pacific Rim, Group Exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

2011 Spirits of the Sea, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

Selected Collections

Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Vancouver International Airport, Vancouver, BC
Vancouver City Museum, Vancouver

VIEW SHORT BIOGRAPHY