Untitled 1982
Stained yellow cedar
108 x 45
Gift of the Estate of Michael C. Williams

Canadian 1939-

Godfrey Stephens was born in Duncan, BC and had a unique upbringing living with Tony Hunt Sr. and carving alongside other West Coast masters such as Mungo Martin.  With permission, he carved First Nations formline designs and eventually developed his own abstract visual language of undulating forms in vertical pillars that appear different from every angle. After leaving school at the age of fourteen, Stephens spent most of his life trading and selling his art and building boats. His niece describes his turbulent life during this period and how he “… filled four passports in the 1960s, one with 138 stamps.” ¹

¹ Gurdeep Stephens, Wood Storms, Wild Canvas: The Art of Godfrey Stephens, 2014