Robert Davidson has received every award and honour that can be bestowed on a Canadian artist. He is internationally recognized for producing the finest examples of Northwest Coast art including masks, totem poles, jewellery, paintings and limited edition prints.

He began making prints at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Art in Hazelton in 1968 and continues to release one of two prints each year. Killer Whale Fin was released in 1973 and originally titled Abstract which failed to sell but sold out quickly after being renamed Killer Whale Fin. The design was adapted from a bracelet design where he was playing with the natural abstraction allowed in silver. His method of designing evolved quickly at this time and especially after he began to cross pollinate concepts developed in one medium and used in another. The templates for jewellery were often used as the base design for prints because they were more free form and details could be added to enhance the design and to balance the colours used in printmaking. The fin design also incorporates an eye and human hand to reference the transformation between creatures.

Killer Whale Fin is documented in the following books: Robert Davidson: Haida Printmaker, Hilary Stewart (page 69), Douglas & McIntyre Publishers, 1979, and Robert Davidson: Echoes of the Supernatural, the Graphic Art of Robert Davidson (page 62), Gary Wyatt with Robert Davidson, Figure 1 Publishers, 2022.