Ron Baird


Ronald Arnott Baird is a Canadian artist. He is best known for his stainless-steel sculptures. He became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1978 and the 1971 recipient of the Allied Arts Award from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

Career

Ron Baird was born in 1940 in Toronto, Ontario. As an artist, he trained at the Ontario College of Art. He first became known for his architectural sculptures.
Baird largely uses the medium of stainless steel. Over his career, Ron Baird has received more than three-hundred commissions for public installations. Many of these pieces are found on boardwalks, harbours, and hospitals.
In 1971 Baird erected the tallest steel sculpture in North America on Dufferin Street in Toronto. That year he received the Allied Arts Award from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. In 1978 he was named to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Baird's work Spirit Catcher was created for the 1986 Expo in Vancouver. The sculpture consists of 20-tonnes of Corten-steel, and conveys the theme of reconciliation with Indigenous people. It currently sits on the waterfront in Barrie, Ontario. In 2018, he began a statue for the waterfront of Beaverton, Ontario, entitled Sky Woman. Spirit Catcher also has a sister sculpture named Sea Serpent on the Barrie waterfront.
In 2018, Baird was selected for the La Biennale di Venezia, and his work was exhibited that year in the Palazzo Bembo on Venice's Grand Canal.