His father was European, allowing Hart to escape the Canadian Indian residential school system that many Haida of his time were sent to.

[3] 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.

[6] Hart was the first Northwest Coast artist to use bronze, beginning in 1982, and he has also made works in silver and gold.

[8] 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.

[9][10] 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.