Roy Henry Vickers is one of the most celebrated and accomplished living Canadian artists today. A member of both the Order of Canada (2007) and Order of British Columbia (1998), and a recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal (2003), Vickers has been the recipient of numerous awards and honours over his long career. His artworks have also been gifts for dignitaries, such as his painting A Meeting of Chiefs, which was officially gifted by British Columbia to Queen Elizabeth II at the 1987 Commonwealth Games. [1] In 2018, Vickers was also nominated for a Grammy for his artwork used on the Grateful Dead commemorative boxset. [2]

This story box is a fine example of Vickers’ artwork and craftsmanship. It is constructed of three pieces of red cedar – the lid, base, and bentwood walls of the box itself. It features two main images rendered in red and black relief-carved formline – an Owl on the front and a Hunter on the back – with a Loon painted in profile on the right and left sides, before and after he received his necklace. The lid is inlaid with 12 operculum shells on the front side. The box has an incredible provenance and comes with a handwritten letter from the artist that explains the imagery and story behind the work. The letter will be included with the sale of the box and has been transcribed in its entirety here:

"Dear Don, / I hope you enjoy this box as much as I enjoyed doing it. Enclosed please find the information on the designs and inlay. / There is a book titled Boxes and Bowls, soon to follow. / Thank you for your interest and support. / Sincerely, / Roy H. Vickers "First Page: The Blind Hunter’s Box. /The design for this box is inspired by the ancient /Tsimshian legend of the BLIND HUNTER. ///As the legend goes, there was once an excellent /hunter on the coast who had a wife and son. One day /the hunter went blind and suffered great ridicule from /his wife. The wife wanted to get rid of the hunter and be /with a man who was useful. ///One day the son, who loved his father very much, told /his father that they could hunt together and he would be /the eyes for the hunter. They lived near a salmon /stream and went there to hunt Medaek, the mighty /grizzly bear. Upon finding a bear, the son aimed the /bow for his father who shot the bear. The mother /came upon the dead bear and removed the arrow, /washed it, and when she brought the arrow back /she told the hunter that he had missed the mark. ///Secretly she butchered the meat and hid it away. /She fed only herself and her son and tried to starve /the hunter. The son, however, loved his father and /told him of the treachery, giving the hunter some of /his own meat to eat. ///The hunter in his sorrow asked his son to lead /him to the shores of the lake where he could sit in /sorrow and sing his song of mourning. A supernatural /loon came to the shore and convinced the hunter /that he could be healed if he would let the loon take /him beneath the waters. The hunter swam with /the loon, submerging themselves four times. "

Second Page: "Upon surfacing the fourth time the hunter’s sight was /restored. He went home and took his son into the house /and locked his wife outside. Through the night the /wife froze to death and turned into an owl to fly /into the trees hooting every night. The husband, the /hunter, took his son and, before leaving that country, /he went to the lake to call the loon. When the loon /came close the hunter thanked him and, removing /his necklace of shells he threw them over the waters /and around the loon’s neck. When the hunter’s necklace /landed on the loon’s neck it broke and the shells fell /along the loon’s back, that’s why today you see the /necklace and white shells on the loon’s off the coast. ///The front of the box is the owl, the back is the /hunter, on one side is loon without his necklace and /on the other is loon with his necklace. ///The box lid has opercula inlay on the front which /should be above the owl. The opercula was found /by myself in the waters around Tofino. Diving is one /of my passions and so I get to gather my own opercula. /Opercula is the trap door to the red turban snail /which is found all over the Northwest coast. This /shell has been used traditionally for centuries on /the coast by artists of all tribes. ///Roy H. Vickers /Jan. 27/84".

1. Roy Henry Vickers Artist Biography. https://royhenryvickers.com/pages/artist-biography. Accessed 26 April 2025.

2. ibid.

—Christopher W. Smith