Jim Hart at Skidegate (n.d.) is a photolithograph based on a drawing created by Smith during a visit to Haida Gwaii. The drawing records a detail of a totem pole carved by the esteemed Haida artist Chief 7iDANsuu James "Jim" Hart (b.1952). This totem pole is part of a significant cultural project involving six monumental poles, each representing one of the historic Haida villages and their respective clans. These poles were carved and prepared for ceremonial raising in June 2001, in conjunction with the Haida Heritage Centre at Kay 'Llnagaay. The poles commemorate the southernmost Haida villages of Skidegate, Ts’aahl, Cumshewa, Skedans, SGang Gwaay, and Tanu. The raising of these poles over six days drew global attention and marked a pivotal moment for the Haida community. The Haida Heritage Centre, which opened its doors in 2007, was a long-held dream of the Haida peoples, who had envisioned the project as early as the 1990s.
Gordon Smith, Jim Hart at Skidegate, n.d., photolithograph. SFU Art Collection. Gift of Joan and Leon Tuey, 2023.
Title
Jim Hart at Skidegate
Artist
Gordon Smith
Collection
SFU Art Collection
Year Acquired
2023
Artists
Gordon Appelbe Smith (b. 18 June 1919 – d. 18 January 2020) was a prominent Canadian artist active in the Vancouver art scene for over five decades. Born in England, he moved to Canada in 1933, settling into Winnipeg and attending the Winnipeg School of Art. Continuing his studies at the Vancouver School of Art, he trained under B.C. Binning and Jack Shadbolt, and later studied at the California School of Fine Art in the early 1950s. Smith’s first solo exhibition was mounted at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1947. Smith gained international exposure in 1960 when he represented Canada at the São Paulo Biennial. While Smith attained recognition for his abstract expressionist paintings early in his practice, he started exploring op art, flatness, and hard-edged lines in the 1960s. Primarily recognized as a painter and printmaker, he also created several sculptures and murals for public locations such as the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the MacMillan Bloedel Building, the Vancouver Law Library, and Simon Fraser University Burnaby campus. Smith passed away in his West Vancouver home in 2020.
A prolific artist, Smith’s work is extensively collected both privately and by major galleries across Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), the Vancouver Art Gallery, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. He was a long-time artist with representation at Bau-xi Gallery in Vancouver and Toronto, and later Equinox Gallery in Vancouver. In 1996, Smith was appointed a member of the Order of Canada, and in 2007, he received the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts, followed by the Governor General’s Award in the Visual and Media Arts in 2009.