Dudley C. Carter (1891–1992) was a Canadian-born artist whose highly prolific career as a monumental woodcarver and sculptor spanned more than 60 years. He was a timber cruiser and forest engineer most of his life, gathering information on volume, species composition grade and value of trees in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Dudley Carter bought property in Gibsons in 1927 and began his far-reaching career in art in 1930 when the depression interrupted his job as a timber cruiser. The woodsman/artist first excited the art world in 1932 when the new Seattle Art Museum purchased his 11-foot axe-hewn cedar sculpture, 'Rivalry of the Winds' (now on display at the Redmond Library).
Carter was a participant in the 'Art in Action' program during the 1939-40 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. During that time he became a friend of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, who depicted Carter three separate times in his 1940 mural “Unión de la Expresión Artistica del Norte y Sur de este Continente” (Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on this Continent).
Dudley Carter’s grandson, Michael Vaughan (1949 – 2022), operated a cedar sawmill at Hillside Industrial park in Port Mellon. When this Industrial Park was officially opened in 1995, organizers of the opening ceremonies decided to acquire one of Carter’s sculptures to mark the special occasion. Sanctuary was unveiled by former BC Premier Mike Harcourt. Also in attendance at the ceremonies were Michael Vaughan, Mavis Vaughan (Carter’s daughter), and the late artist Anna Hanson (Carter’s granddaughter).