Artwork copyright Lawney Reyes. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Lawney Reyes. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Lawney Reyes. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Killer Whale, 1981

Lawney Reyes
(American | Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation | Sinixt, born 1931, died 2022)

Location: Maywood Hills Elementary, Bothell

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Artist Lawney Reyes (Sinixt, 1931-2022) created Killer Whale as part of a series of bronze sculptures that interpret Northwest Coast images, designs, and symbols.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Northshore School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Lawney Reyes (Sinixt, 1931-2022) is a celebrated sculptor, designer, curator, and writer based in Seattle. His writing and sculpture draw great influence from his Sinixt culture, part of the Colville Confederation of Tribes of Northeastern Washington.
Reyes grew up on the Colville Indian Reservation in Northeastern Washington and in Grand Coulee, Central Washington. His father was a Filipino immigrant and his mother was a member of the Sin-Aikst Indian Tribe. He was taken from his family and sent to an Indian boarding school in Oregon for two years. Reyes started studying at the University of Washington in Seattle in 1952. Two years later, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and spent 18 months in Germany. He traveled around Europe and was influenced by its art and architecture. He used the G.I. Bill to finish his degree in interior design in 1959. Reyes has worked as an interior designer, art curator, and artist since then. He co-designed the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle in the 1970s. He was honored with a Washington State Governor's Arts Award in 1971. In his seventies, he wrote his first book "White Grizzly Bear’s Legacy: Learning to be Indian", for his grandchildren so that they would know their family history.