HAROLD ALFRED

Harold (Jackson) Alfred was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia and is a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw (formerly Kwakiutl) Nation. He was born into the Nimpkish tribe in 1953. His works are sold in British Columbia at The Vancouver Art Gallery and the Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria.
Growing up in Alert Bay, one is constantly surrounded by the arts and cannot help but be influenced by the designs, figures and poles created by the great masters of the past. As a result, Harold produces outstanding work which has a contemporary feel with a strong sense of the past. Harold signs his work with a stylized HJA or HJAlfred.
Harold takes great pride in having carved a 20’ Kwakiutl Totem pole for the City of Duncan, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The two figures on the pole are the powerful Killer Whale and the Supernatural Thunderbird with its massive, outstretched wings majestically reaching up to the sky.
Harold observes the high standards set by past masters and applies the same standards of quality and workmanship to his own works whether it be in jewellery designing and carving, wood carvings, prints or stained glass. Harold recognizes that development of his knowledge and appreciation of the Kwakiutl art form is an ongoing process. Using the traditional lines of the ovoid, feathered U’s and split U’s, Harold strides to develop distinct lines and forms which clearly depict strong traditional designs which are true to the Kwakiutl art form.
His logo is the powerful Thunderbird, with its curled horns and curved beak, one of the founding crests of the Namgis and symbolic of the artist’s roots as a Namgis artist from Alert Bay.