Tony Hunt, Jr. is a Kwagiulth artist and dancer from Victoria, British Columbia. He was born December 4, 1962 into a family famous for its artists and cultural leaders. While he was in high school a special program was put in place enabling him to spend half his time on academics and half carving at Arts of the Raven Workshop, one of the first galleries devoted solely to fine art by Northwest Coast artists. Under the tutelage of his father, Tony Hunt, Sr. and other master artists he honed his skills as a carver and printmaker.
Tony’s grandfather, Henry Hunt, worked alongside Mungo Martin at the Royal British Columbia Museum in the 1950’s. They were instrumental in teaching a new generation of artists about the art and culture of the Kwakwaka’wakw. Their persistence along with artists like Willie Seaweed insured that young Kwagiulth artists were the inheritors of an unbroken tradition of ceremony and the dramatic art that accompanies it.
Today, Tony’s work is sought after by collectors all around the world. The Seamonster Mask that Tony contributed to the internationally acclaimed exhibition, “Chiefly Feasts,” was danced at the opening of the show at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The show then traveled to the Seattle Art Museum and the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria. Tony’s work combines contemporary innovations in material and size with a great respect for the traditions of his family.