Biography

ROBERT DOW REID
Kelowna, BC

Robert Dow Reid was born in Scotland in 1933 and has always drawn inspiration from the sea and aquatic life. His grandfather was a sea captain, and the artist himself travelled the seas on whaling vessels as a teenager in the 1940s and 1950s. He met his wife, Isobel in 1956, and they immigrated to Canada in 1958. Robert and his family have lived in Kelowna since 1964.

Dow Reid is best known for his Spirit of Sail sculpture (which stands at 38-feet high and currently sits at the end of Bernard Avenue in Kelowna.) and his numerous other large-scale sculptures throughout B.C., Saskatchewan, and Japan. Locally, he is well loved for his smaller works carved from whale teeth salvaged on board the whalers all those decades ago. His creations are in collections worldwide, including that of Queen Elizabeth II.

"It doesn't really matter to me whether my art is considered good or bad, though hopefully it's not treated indifferently. What matters to me is that I know it's my best at the time I'm doing it."