Doug Cranmer
| Doug Cranmer (Kesu') | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1927 Alert Bay, BC, Canada |
| Died | 2006 (aged 78–79) Alert Bay, BC, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Known for | Carving, Painting |
| Movement | Northwest Coast art |
Doug Cranmer (1927–2006), also known as Pal'nakwala Wakas and Kesu', was a Kwakwaka'wakw carver and artist as well as a 'Namgis chief. Cranmer was a significant figure in the Northwest Coast art movement, both in its traditional form and in a modern contemporary form that he created and developed.
Cranmer was born in 1927 in Alert Bay, British Columbia and given the Kwakwaka'wakw name "Kesu'" ("wealth being carved") at the age of ten.
Cranmer inherited the position of 'Namgis chief from his father, taking the hereditary name of Pal’nakwala Wakas, meaning "great river of overflowing wealth".
Cranmer died 2006 in Alert Bay.
Cranmer began drawing and carving on his own early in life, but was schooled in the style and traditions of Kwakwaka'wakw art by Mungo Martin ("Nakapenkem"). Cranmer's early working life was spent logging and fishing. It was not until the 1950s that Cranmer quit work in the logging and fishing industry to work as a carver, when he was invited by Haida artist Bill Reid to assist him in the creation of Haida-style houses and totem poles under a commission from the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. As a result of his participation in Reid's project, Cranmer's training and experience expanded to include styles of other Northwest Coast traditions, such as the Tsimshian, Tlingit, Heiltsuk, and Haida.
By the 1960s, Cranmer had established himself as an independent Northwest Coast artist in his own right. In 1962, in partnership with Alfred Scow and Richard Bird, Cranmer established a commercial gallery in Vancouver called "The Talking Stick". The Talking Stick was one of the first aboriginal studios of its kind. The partners wound up the business in 1967, as Cranmer's growing reputation and large-scale commissions meant he had less time to devote to creating works for The Talking Stick.
In 1967, the Vancouver Art Gallery included three works by Cranmer as part of what was the first exhibition of aboriginal art in Canada presented on an equal status as that of western art. Cranmer was later commissioned to create the doors and totem poles for the B.C. pavilion at Expo '70.
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