Jim Hart ( hai, 7idansuu, pronounced ; born in the early 1950s) is a Canadian and

Haida Haida may refer to: Places * Haida, an old name for Nový Bor * Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands * Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia Ships * , a 1 ...

artist and a chief of the

Haida Nation The Council of the Haida Nation ("CHN") (''X̱aaydaG̱a Waadlux̱an Naay'') is the elected government of the Haida Nation. The council consists of a president and vice-president elected by popular vote, twelve regional representatives from four el ...

...

Biography

Hart was born in

Masset Masset , formerly ''Massett'', is a village in Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Masset Sound on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Col ...

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hecat ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. His mother, Joan Hart, is the granddaughter of

Charles Edenshaw Charles Edenshaw (–1920) was a Haida artist"Master Artists: Charles Edensha ...

. His father was European, allowing Hart to escape the

Canadian Indian residential school system In Canada, the Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches. The school sy ...

that many Haida of his time were sent to. Instead, he grew up with his grandparents and became a fisherman. Hart discovered his passion for Haida art in high school. He began carving seriously in 1979. Hart first apprenticed with Robert Davidson in 1978 to help construct a set of totem poles. From 1980 to 1984 he became an assistant to

Bill Reid William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) ( Haida) was a Canadian artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year career, Reid is ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, who by then was too seriously afflicted with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

to do much of his own carving. He began his work with Reid by putting the finishing details on ''The Raven and the First Man'', a centerpiece of the

Museum of Anthropology at UBC The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is renowned for its displays of world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. As well as ...

, and he also assisted on Reid's '' Spirit of Haida Gwaii / The Jade Canoe''. Hart lives in both Vancouver and Haida Gwaii. In Haida Gwaii, he is known as ˀIdansuu, a hereditary chief name that he received in 1999 after it had earlier been held by Charles Edenshaw. As chief he belongs to the Hereditary Chiefs Council of the

Works

Hart was the first Northwest Coast artist to use bronze, beginning in 1982, and he has also made works in silver and gold. In 1988, he supervised the construction of the Haida house in the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

. A 1995 wood sculpture that Hart considers to be his equivalent of a

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

, ''Frog Constellation'', depicts two people on the back of a giant frog; it was installed in 2012 on the campus of

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

. ''The Dance Screen'', a large wood carving that he began designing in 2009, was installed in 2012 as a temporary exhibit in the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Franc ...

. Jim Hart's ''The Dance Screen (The Scream Too)'' was put on permanent display at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler and inaugurated in 2018. Another of Hart's works, a totem pole called the ''Respect to Bill Reid Pole'', is part of the outdoor Haida village at the

. A bronze sculpture by Hart, ''The Three Watchmen'', is part of the collection of the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

, and is installed outside the gallery in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. Beaver Manda by Jim Hart, Canadian Museum of History.jpg, Beaver "Manda", 1995,

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

7idansuu's Reconciliation Pole (cropped).png, 7idansuu carving the ''Reconciliation Pole'' at

UBC The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top three ...

The Three Watchmen - 04.jpg, ''The Three Watchmen'', Ottawa

Awards and honors

Hart was awarded the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier ...

in 2003 and received a

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

in 2013. He holds an honorary doctorate from the

Emily Carr University of Art and Design Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co-e ...

and was also awarded an honorary degree from

in 2017.

References

External links

James Hart, Haida Carver
a one-hour documentary by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, originally aired June 18, 2009
Douglas Reynolds Gallery (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Jim 1952 births Living people 20th-century First Nations sculptors Canadian male sculptors 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian sculptors 21st-century Canadian male artists 21st-century First Nations people Artists from British Columbia First Nations jewelers Haida woodcarvers Members of the Order of British Columbia Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts