First Name: Tony

Last Name: Hunt

Full Name: Tony Hunt Junior

Date of birth: December 4, 1961

Place of birth: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Date of death: October 12, 2017

Community / Heritage: Kwakwaka'wakw

Sex: Male

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Artist/Tony-Hunt-Jr-292854097572274/

Art Media: Wood, masks, carvings, totem poles.

Bio:

Tony Hunt Jr. was a Kwagiulth artist and dancer born on December 4, 1961 in Victoria, British Columbia. Hunt Jr. comes from a long line of artistic and cultural leaders. His great-grandfather, Mungo Martin, was a celebrated artist and his father, Tony Hunt, was a Kwakwaka'wakw chief who established the Arts of the Raven Gallery in Victoria.

Hunt Jr. began carving at an early age. During his senior high school years, a special program was put in place enabling him to spend half of his time on academics and the other half carving at the Arts of the Raven workshop under the direction of his father. Hunt Jr. spent his life learning Kwagiulth art, traditions, and legends from his elders. Hunt Jr. was an initiated Hamatsa dancer, inheriting the rights to perform many high-ranking dances that belong to his family.

His art was included in the “Chiefly Feasts” exhibition, which travelled from the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria to the Burke Museum in Seattle, and then to the Museum of Natural History in New York City. 

Hunt Jr.’s work was part of the "Down from the Shimmering Sky" exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

In 2015, he carved a totem pole at Quadra Elementary School in honour of the school’s 100th birthday.

Hunt Jr. created many artworks throughout his career, but often stated that his most significant achievement was raising the first longhouse in 70 years in Fort Rupert, which is the ancestral home of the Hunt family.

Exhibitions

• “The Chiefly Feasts”, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY, United States
• “The Chiefly Feasts”, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, Washington, United StatesThe Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• Royal B.C. Museum, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Articles

• https://www.vancourier.com/an-artful-tribute-to-tony-hunt-jr-1.23071395
•  https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/obituary-tony-hunt-jr-s-work-attracted-a-world-of-collectors-1.23064942