Haida artist, Wasco platter, 1880-90, argillite. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, gift from the collection of George Gund III. Rachel Topham photo

 
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — The Vancouver Art Gallery has acquired art of the Pacific Northwest coast from the late US art collector George Gund III. The museum said the donation of the comprehensive collection of First Nations artworks from the late San Francisco collector will dramatically transform its collection of Northwest Coast art. The collection comprises 37 items, including about 20 historical works by Haida, Heiltsuk, Inuit, Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Nuxalk and Tlingit artists, dating as early as 700 AD. Contemporary works are also part of the collection — poles by Ken Mowatt, Norman Tait, drawings by Bill Reid and 13 carved works by Robert Davidson. An exhibition featuring the gift, “Contemporary and Historical Art from the Northwest Coast,” is currently on view at the museum until January 31, 2016.