Bill Reid Foundation

BILL REID'S ART GRACES THE $20 BANKNOTE

(Click the images on the banknote for more detail on each element)

The Bank of Canada has redesigned all the Canadian banknotes, as it does regularly and to add new anti-counterfeiting elements. The new $20 was unveiled in a ceremony in Vancouver on August 25, 2004.

The $20 is the fourth in the new Canadian Journey series, and the theme is arts and culture. “To highlight Canada’s cultural diversity and artistic expression, masterpieces from internationally-renowned Canadian artist Bill Reid are depicted on the back of the note,” the Bank’s news release stated.

Revenue Minister John McCallum officiated, saying: “This banknote celebrates the contribution of arts and culture both to individual Canadians, and to the country as a whole. Canadian cultural works, stories symbols not only reflect who we are and where we have come from, but also help to define who we would like to become – our values and our aspirations as a nation.”

The Bank chose four of Reid’s works of art:

The Spirit of Haida Gwaii – monumental work in bronze with two castings: The Black Canoe floating in a pool at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC; and The Jade Canoe at the Vancouver International Airport. The plaster cast is at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec.
The Raven and the First Men – carved in yellow cedar, owned by and installed at the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology.
Mythic Messengers – a bronze frieze, 28 ft. long, mythical creatures depicting communications. Owned by the Bill Reid Foundation, temporarily on exhibit at the Vancouver International Airport, near The Jade Canoe. Another casting is at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec.
Xhuwaji / Haida Grizzly Bear – the design originated as a ceremonial drum, which is now in the Artists for Kids permanent collection in North Vancouver. Bill Reid refined and further developed the original image to create a bold and striking serigraph for the Artists for Kids Trust, which sells them to raise funds for their programs, and from which the image on the bank note is taken.

All the illustrations on the note are by Jorge Peral, artistic director of the Canadian Bank Note Company.