Harry Hawthorn

Who was Harry Hawthorn?

Harry Bertram Hawthorn, OC was a Canadian anthropologist and museum curator. He is well known for his work with the coastal First Nations of British Columbia.

Hawthorn was born in Wellington, New Zealand and studied at Victoria University College, then Auckland University College, and Yale University. His first fieldwork experiences were with the Māori of New Zealand and in Peru.

He joined the faculty of the University of British Columbia in 1947, founded its anthropology program, championed the legitimacy of Northwest Coast Indian art as high art, and, along with his wife and colleague Audrey Hawthorn, was the driving force behind the establishment of UBC's world-class Museum of Anthropology. He was an early champion of Northwest Coast artists such as Mungo Martin and Bill Reid.