Oscar William Holm Jr. (March 24, 1925 – December 16, 2020) was an American art historian and author, focused on Indigenous

Northwest Coast art Northwest Coast art is the term commonly applied to a style of art created primarily by artists from Tlingit, Haida, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Tsimshian, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth and other First Nations and Native American tribes of the Northwest ...

. He created artworks and taught Northwest Coast style, including formline design. He was Professor Emeritus of Art History, and Curator Emeritus of Northwest Coast Indian Art at the

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (Burke Museum) is a natural history museum in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. Established in 1899 as the Washington State Museum, it traces its origins to a high school naturalist club fo ...

and occasionally lectured at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

. Holm's 1965 book ''Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form'' has for decades been the standard introductory text in the field. In its 18th printing, the 50th-anniversary edition, with new commentary, was published in 2014.

Background

Holm was born on March 24, 1925, in

Roundup, Montana Roundup is a city in and the county seat of Musselshell County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,742 during the 2020 census. History Roundup served as a place for cattlemen to "round up" their cattle along the Musselshell River. It ...

to electrician Oscar Holm and teacher Martha Holm. His family moved to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

when Holm was twelve. Prior to his career as an artist and art historian, Holm was enlisted in the army and served in as part of a field artillery observation battalion in France during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He would go on to earn the rank of Master sergeant. In 1953 Holm married his wife Marty (née Mueller), a dancer. British Columbia Provincial judge Alfred Scow, a Kwakwaka'wakw elder, said " ill Holmhas been a respectful student of our tradition, who took pains to learn Kwakwala. He is a very thorough art historian." In 1942 Holm worked at Henderson Camp, later renamed Camp Nor'wester, a summer camp located in the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core ...

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...

. Here he and his wife Marty struck up a friendship with

Mungo Martin Chief Mungo Martin or ''Nakapenkem'' (lit. ''Potlatch chief "ten times over"''), ''Datsa'' (lit. ''"grandfather"''), was an important figure in Northwest Coast style art, specifically that of the Kwakwaka'wakw Aboriginal people who live in the a ...

, which led to significant artistic accomplishments including the recording of hundreds of Kwakwaka'wakw songs, the construction of "big houses" and totem poles on

Lopez Island Lopez Island is the third largest of the San Juan Islands and an unincorporated town in San Juan County, Washington, United States. Lopez Island is in land area. The 2000 census population was 2,177, though the population swells in the summer, ...

and

John's Island Johns Island is an island in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, and is the largest island in the state of South Carolina. Johns Island is bordered by the Wadmalaw, Seabrook, Kiawah, Edisto, Folly, and James islands; the Stono a ...

, many dance masks, four

Haida Haida may refer to: Places * Haida, an old name for Nový Bor * Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands * Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia Ships * , a ...

-style canoes, and more. Martin would give Holm the names ''Namsgamuti'' (He Speaks Only Once), ''Hamtsi'stesalagalis'' (Unrestrained Hamatsa Everywhere), ''Ho'miskanis'' (Plenty of Everything, literally, Surplus Food from the River). Holm was also named ''Tlalelitla'' (Continually Inviting) by Chief William Scow, Henry Bell, and Joe Seaweed. His students included the

carver Freda Diesing and many others.

Honors

Holm's eight books have won scholarly acclaim and recognition with four Washington State Governor's Writers Awards, and two special Governor's awards. In 2001, Holm was honored with a certificate of appreciation from the

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

, and

Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only r ...

people of Southeast Alaska through the Sealaska Heritage Institute. The Native American Art Studies Association recognized him with its Honor Award in 1991. The

honored him with a Distinguished Achievement Award from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1994 and selected him to give the annual University Faculty Lecture in 2003. He also received the Burke award for courage, excellence and bravery in 2010.

Visual art

A series of large paintings by Holm introduced Northwest Native motifs in the gallery of Northwest Coast art at the 1962 Seattle

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

in the

Century 21 Exposition The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States.Complete list of publications

Camp Nor'wester
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holm, Bill 1925 births 2020 deaths American art historians Artists from Montana People from Roundup, Montana Pacific Northwest artists Northwest Coast art University of Washington faculty Historians of the Pacific Northwest Historians from Montana