Peter Livesay Macnair is a Canadian anthropologist. From 1965 until 1996 Macnair was the Curator of

Ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

at the

Royal British Columbia Museum Founded in 1886, the Royal British Columbia Museum (sometimes referred to as Royal BC Museum) consists of The Province of British Columbia's natural and human history museum as well as the British Columbia Provincial Archives. The museum is loca ...

. During this time he was responsible for ground-breaking work in museum

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

and the participation of aboriginal peoples in the creation of museum exhibits. Since his retirement from the

, Macnair has been as active as ever and has curated exhibits for the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Franc ...

, The

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) is an art museum located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Situated in Rockland, Victoria, the museum occupies a building complex; made up of the Spencer Mansion, and the Exhibition Galleries. The ...

and the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

Selected works

*''The Legacy: Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art'' (1983) *''The Magic Leaves: A History of Haida

Argillite :''"Argillite" may also refer to Argillite, Kentucky.'' Argillite () is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and oozes. They contain variable amounts ...

Carving'' (1984) *''Down from the Shimmering Sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast'' (1998) *''To the Totem Forests:

Emily Carr Emily Carr (or M. Emily Carr as she sometimes signed her work) (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to ado ...

and Contemporaries Interpret Coastal Villages'' (1999) *''Listening to the Ancestors : The Art of Native Life in the Pacific Northwest'' (2005)

References

Emily Carr: To the Totem Forests

Douglas & McIntyre Publishers Inc.

BC BookWorld
Canadian anthropologists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{Canada-academic-bio-stub