Jim Hart
CULTURAL GROUP:
Haida
BORN:
1952
BIRTHPLACE:
Old Massett, Haida Gwaii, BC
Jim's career has consisted of successive accomplishments and masterworks. He has produced some of the most refined and famous Haida artworks in existence. Jim apprenticed with acclaimed Haida artist, Robert Davidson, in 1979 when he started working as an artist full-time, and then he trained with Bill Reid from 1980 to 1984. In 1979, he was commissioned by the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria to carve a large cedar Dogfish Screen. In 2000, he carved the replacement of a Bill Reid pole for Vancouver's Museum of Anthropology. In 2008, he carved the Celebration of Bill Reid Pole now located in The Bill Reid Gallery in Vancouver. In 2011, his large bronze The Three Watchmen was installed outside of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa as part of their permanent collection. Between 2012-2014, Jim completed his largest project to date, titled The Dance Screen (The Scream Too). It measured 11' by 16', and was finished on the fourth floor of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Jim is a Chief from the Eagle Clan, and he holds the name and hereditary title of his great-great-grandfather, Charles Edenshaw. As such, he maintains a practice devoted to his community, carving and raising poles as well as building several Haida longhouses in Old Massett and Skidegate.