Eagle Transforming: The Art of Robert Davidson

by Robert Davidson, Ulli Steltzer

Ulli Steltzer, a distinguished photographer, takes the reader into the carving shed and studio to see Robert Davidson as he creates both monumental poles and intricately detailed powerful masks. More than 100 of her black-and-white photographs, reproduced in duotone, record both the evolution of Davidson and his art, from the early days up to the present, a span of 25 years. In the accompanying text and captions, Robert Davidson writes movingly about growing up Haida and his development as an artist, describes the creative and practical process of carving poles and masks, and discusses the place of art in Haida culture.

164 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2000

About the author

Robert Davidson is a professional writer and editor based in Highland Scotland. He is the founder and managing director of Sandstone Press and the author, co-author, and editor of many books as well as a published poet, lyricist and libretist. Before altering his life’s course he worked for over thirty years (having left education early) as a civil engineer. It is this experience that informs Site Works.

Davidson has been Secretary of the Neil Gunn Memorial Trust since its inception in 1986 and was reviews editor of Northwords magazine from 1999 to 2001. As managing editor for the following three years, he shifted the focus of the magazine from new writing to a more broadly based arts content. He established Sandstone Press in Dingwall in 2002, and is managing editor of it and its online magazine, Sandstone Review.

Davidson has published two collections of poems, The Bird & The Monkey (Highland Printmakers, 1996) and Total Immersion (Scottish Cultural Press, 1998). He was editor of the water-themed anthology After The Watergaw (Scottish Cultural Press, 1998). The book length sequence 'Columba' was published in its entirety by Poetry Scotland and was performed as part of the Cromarty Book Festival in 2002, and his libretto Dunbeath Water was performed at Highland Festival 2004.

Books written by Robert Davidson have been short listed for the Saltire Society, Scottish Arts Council, and Boardman Tasker Awards.