7IDANsuu James Hart: A Monumental Practice

PRE-ORDER NOW: From now until Nov 1, 2025, your copy of 7IDANsuu James Hart: A Monumental Practice

Books will be available for pick up for those attending the book launch event Nov 1, 2025 in the Gallery Shop located inside the Bill Reid Gallery. For those not attending the book launch event, books will be available for pickup* or local courier** as of Nov 2, 2025 or while supplies last.

Hart has achieved national prominence and international acclaim for his towering poles, stately cedar sculptures, and massive bronzes—monumental works that extend the long continuum of Haida visual traditions into powerful new forms. Since his early days assisting Robert Davidson and Bill Reid, through his reproductions of historical Haida poles and his carving of original house front, story, and memorial poles for private commissions and clan-based contexts in Haida Gwaii and beyond, he has developed an innovative practice rooted in tradition, and widely celebrated: thousands of people gathered to witness the raising and activation of his Reconciliation Pole; his Three Watchmen bronzes overlook the Audain Art Museum, National Gallery of Canada and the Plains of Abraham; and The Dance Screen (The Scream Too) in Whistler is considered a once-in-a-generation sculptural masterpiece.

This, the first publication devoted to Hart, is both a survey of his major career achievements and a document of an impossible-to-assemble exhibition. Alongside hundreds of photos of nineteen monumental works and associated smaller carvings and bronzes scattered across North America and Europe, and drawing on over two years of interviews with the artist, Curtis Collins illustrates how key animal and supernatural figures reappear across scales and mediums, from jewelry to sixty-foot poles (the “backbone” of his practice), and speaks to the associated activation ceremonies as integral to Haida monumental art. Wade Davis considers Hart’s expressions of Haida resilience within the people’s long history, from time immemorial to the nation’s present-day efforts towards national sovereignty; Gwaliga Hart offers a personal perspective on his father’s work; and in an autobiographical essay, the artist himself reflects on his life and his life’s work.

Hardcover; 10.25" × 11.25"; 248 pages. Figure 1 Publishing (Oct. 1, 2025) ISBN: 978-1-77327-227-6

*Please check the PICK UP option on the checkout page.

**With the national Canada Post strike, we are still navigating shipping options. If you would like us to arrange shipping, please contact one of our Gallery Shop Associates for assistance at galleryshop@billreidgallery.ca. Thank you for your patience.