Canadian Banknotes 20 Dollar Bill 2004
Bank of Canada - Banque du Canada
The theme chosen for the $20 banknote was "arts and culture". The banknote was first circulated in September 2004.
Obverse: Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. The portrait's engraving on the obverse was created by Peral based on a photograph of Elizabeth II taken by Charles Green in 2000. The photograph was taken specifically for rendering an image on this banknote, which appears next to a vignette of the Centre Block of Parliament Hill.
The reverse depicts the chosen theme "Arts and Culture" using illustrations of artwork created by Bill Reid, an artist of maternal Haida heritage from which he draws creative inspiration. To the far left is an illustration of The Raven and the First Men, a laminated yellow cedar sculpture housed at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, adjacent to which is an excerpt from the 1961 book La Montagne secrète by Gabrielle Roy and its English translation by Harry Binsse. To the right is a prominent illustration of the sculpture Spirit of Haida Gwaii, with a yellow-toned background depicting the ceremonial drum sculpture Haida Grizzly Bear. In the upper right-hand corner is an illustration depicting the sculpture Mythic Messengers, an 8.5 metres (28 ft) bronze frieze now installed at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art. Our nation’s visual, literary and performing arts enrich the lives of all Canadians.
Signatures: Left – W.P. Jenkins, Right – D.A. Dodge / Left – W.P. Jenkins, Right – M.J. Carney
Size: 152.4 x 69.85 mm (6.0 x 2.75 inches)
Issue Date: 29 September 2004
Canada banknotes - Canada paper money
Canadian Journey Series
The Canadian Journey series is the sixth series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar designed and circulated by the Bank of Canada. It succeeded the Birds of Canada banknote series. The first of the banknotes issued into circulation was the $10 banknote on 17 January 2001, and the last to be issued was the $50 banknote on 17 November 2004. The series was succeeded by the Frontier Series, banknotes of which were first issued into circulation from 2011 to 2013.Designs on the reverse of each banknote in the series were based on themes of fundamental Canadian values and achievements. The $20 banknote was awarded 2004 Banknote of the Year by the International Bank Note Society.
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The Spirit of Haida Gwaii
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii is a sculpture by British Columbia Haida artist Bill Reid (1920–1998).
The sculpture was originally created in 1986 as a 1⁄6-scale clay model, enlarged in 1988, to full-size clay. In 1991, the model was cast in bronze. This first bronze casting was entitled The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Black Canoe and is now displayed outside the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C. The second bronze casting, entitled The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Jade Canoe, was first displayed at the Canadian Museum of History in 1994. Finally, in 1995, the "Jade Canoe" (as it is generally called) was moved to the International Terminal at Vancouver International Airport, where it remains today.
A plaster copy of the sculpture is on display in the main hall of the Canadian Museum of History.
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii is intended to represent the Aboriginal heritage of the Haida Gwaii region in Canada's Haida Gwaii, formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands. In green-coloured bronze on the Vancouver version and black-coloured on the Washington version, it shows a traditional Haida cedar dugout canoe which totals six metres in length. The canoe carries the following passengers: Raven, the traditional trickster of Haida mythology, holding the steering oar; Mouse Woman, crouched under Raven's tail; Grizzly Bear, sitting at the bow and staring toward Raven; Bear Mother, Grizzly's human wife; their cubs, Good Bear (ears pointed forward) and Bad Bear (ears pointed back); Beaver, Raven's uncle; Dogfish Woman; Eagle; Frog; Wolf, claws imbedded in Beaver's back and teeth in Eagle's wing; a small human paddler in Haida garb known as the Ancient Reluctant Conscript; and, at the sculpture's focal point, the human Shaman (or Kilstlaai in Haida), who wears the Haida cloak and woven spruce root hat and holds a tall staff carved with the Seabear, Raven, and Killer whale. Consistent with Haida tradition, the significance of the passengers is highly symbolic. The variety and interdependence of the canoe's occupants represents the natural environment on which the ancient Haida relied for their very survival: the passengers are diverse, and not always in harmony, yet they must depend on one another to live. The fact that the cunning trickster, Raven, holds the steering oar is likely symbolic of nature's unpredictability. The sculpture is 6 metres (20 feet) long, not quite 4 metres (13.2 feet) from the base to the top of the Shaman's staff, and weighs nearly 5000 kilograms (11,000 pounds).
Canadian 20 Dollar Bills
Canadian 20 Dollar Bill 2004 Queen Elizabeth II Canadian 20 Dollar Bill 1991 Queen Elizabeth II