DON YEOMANS
(B. 1958, Prince Rupert, BC; Haida)
Born in Prince Rupert, Don Yeomans is one of the most respected and renowned Northwest Coast artists. Born of a Haida father from Masset and a Métis mother from Slave Lake, Alberta, Yeomans has studied and worked in the Haida Style since he was a youth.
Yeomans first apprenticed under the expert guidance of his aunt Freda Diesing in the early 1970's. Shortly after studying fine arts at Vancouver Community College in 1976, Yeomans worked under Robert Davidson on the Charles Edenshaw Memorial Longhouse. He also studied Fine Arts at Langara College, where he met Bud Mintz, who was to become an important friend and mentor. For a two-year period he studied jewelry with Phil Janzé, a renowned Gitksan artist. Don Yeomans has mastered the traditional forms of art making, from two-dimensional design to wood carving to gold and silver jewelry-making. Yeomans' many apprenticeships have resulted in an artist and craftsman who can produce exquisite artworks in any medium.
Yeomans' work can be found in numerous private and public collections worldwide, such as UBC's Museum of Anthropology, the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC, the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, QC, the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, AB, and the Museum of Northern British Columbia in Prince Rupert.
