Bill Holm (1925-2020) Working Drawing
This large, 30” x 12” working drawing by Holm was created in 1962, and was likely made while he was working at the Century 21 Pavilion of Northwest Coast Art at the World’s Fair. It came from the estate of Don McQuade, an Anishnaabe artist who was also working at the fair on a totem pole with Lummi artist Joe Hilaire, near the Pavilion. McQuade and Holm were friends and this was likely a gift.
The vertical split between the left (formline) and right (shaded realistic sculpture) sides of the pole illustrate Holm’s primary theoretical framework from his 1965 book Northwest Coast Art: An Analysis of Form, where he postulated the relationship between 2-dimensional “formline” and 3-dimensional sculpture in Northwest Coast Art.
I received the drawing rolled up with masking tape around the edges, but I had a paper conservator remove the tape and flatten the drawing. I left the yellowed paper alone (it’s powder coated and would be difficult to treat without damaging it) and kept the tack holes in the top. It’s floated in archival framing material with museum glass to protect the red ink grid under the drawing.
Although Holm was non-Indigenous and mostly known for being a scholar of the art, I love having this important working drawing in my collection from him. I also love the connection to Seattle and the 1962 Worlds Fair.