Bernard Kerrigan is a Haida artist with roots in the village of Dadens on Lanagra Island. He was born in Queen Charlotte City in 1963 and raised in Quesnel. He studied law at UBC and spent several years in Vancouver before deciding to relocate to Haida Gwaii to become a full-time artist. Kerrigan had visited Haida Gwaii many times during his childhood, working with various relatives who were artists including Claude Davidson. Bernard’s brother Keith also attended law school, and set up a legal practice in Prince George where he blends his legal career with making Haida art.

Kerrigan largely works in argillite and precious metals and has an open studio for sales and commissions in Haida Gwaii. This model totem pole is topped with a whale with a folded tail design; below it are an eagle, and a beaver sitting on a frog base, with numerous support figures rendered in the bellies, wings, and ears.

Gary Wyatt

References: For an overview of contemporary argillite works, see Carol Sheehan’s book Breathing Stone; Contemporary Haida Argillite Sculpture, (Calgary: Frontenac House Ltd., 2008). For a historic overview of argillite works, see