renowned carver Charles Edenshaw. At 24, Hart assisted Robert Davidson with totem poles for the Edenshaw Memorial, and from 1980 to 1984 he worked with Bill Reid on Reid’s large-scale projects. Hart’s Respect to Bill Reid Pole is part of the outdoor Haida village at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. Among his many well-known projects are Haida House in the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s Grand Hall, which he supervised, and several Haida longhouses he constructed in Old Massett. His powerful large sculpture The Three Watchmen stands in front of the National Gallery of Canada and his impressive carving The Dance Screen (The Scream Too) is included in the collection of the Audain Art Museum. In Hart’s work lies a bridge between Haida tradition and the contemporary world. “I tell younger people all the answers are in the old pieces,” he stated, but he also moves forward to create his own style. This stunning totem, its surface gleaming with gold, contains the traditional iconography of the Haida, but Hart’s sleek and sinuous lines transform their visual language and bring it into the present. Please note: the base of this work measures 5 3/4 x 12 x 12 inches. Est imat e : $25,000 – 35,000
217 Rufus Moody w 1923 – 1998
Totem Pole
216 James (Jim) Hart w 1952 –
Totem 22k gold-plated bronze sculpture on a marble base, signed and dated 1984 50 1/2 x 5 x 4 in, 128.3 x 12.7 x 10.2 cm P rov e n a n c e
Fletcher Challenge, Canada Peter and Joanne Brown Collection, Vancouver L i t e rat u r e
Ian M. Thom, Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 2009, page 46 Born in Old massett on Haida Gwaii, Jim Hart is one of the Northwest Coast’s most accomplished sculptors. Hart is a chief of the Haida Nation; and his great-great-grandfather was the
argillite sculpture with abalone inlay, signed and inscribed Eagle, Sea Wolf Holding Two Whales, Raven Holding Beaverhouse, Human Face, Beaver, Human Face 36 x 6 x 7 1/2 in, 91.4 x 15.2 x 19 cm Prove n ance
Private Collection, Calgary Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 27, 2004, lot 142 Peter and Joanne Brown Collection, Vancouver Rufus Moody was a Haida carver from Skidegate, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, and is the son of noted carver Arthur Moody. This form of argillite, a slate-like stone, is found in only one place in the world—on reserve land near Skidegate—and its use is restricted by law to only the Haida. Moody was known to have gone on expeditions to extract argillite from the deposits there. Est imat e : $15,000 – 25,000
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