Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Heywood Hardy (1843-1933)


A painter of equestrian, hunting and genre scenes often set in the eighteenth century, as well as a distinguished portraitist, Heywood Hardy was the youngest son of the artist James Hardy Snr (1801-1879).





He began his career as an animal artist in Keynsham; however, following initial failure, he joined the 7th Somerset Volunteers for a brief period.

In 1864, Hardy went to Paris and entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he
studied with the battle painter, Pielse. He then visited Antwerp, returning to England shortly before 1868.

In 1870, Hardy settled in London and shared a studio with Briton Riviere.



His career flourished and he was elected a member of several societies, including the Royal Society of Painters and Etchers, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.

He was an Associate of the Royal Watercolour Society. Hardy also worked as an illustrator, contributing to The Illustrated London News and The Graphic Magazine.



Famed for his sensitive portrayal of animals, Hardy was invited to many country estates and commissioned by several distinguished patrons, including Colonel Wyndham Murray, the Marquis of Zetland and the Sitwells of Renishaw.

Hardy moved to West Sussex in 1909, and at the age of eighty-three embarked upon a
unique phase in his career. This was a controversial series of biblical scenes portraying Christ walking in the Sussex countryside, surrounded by recognisable contemporary village dignitaries. These panels were painted to mark the 700th anniversary of Clymping Church, where they can still be seen today.

9 comments:

オテモヤン said...
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Sherry Sikstrom said...

Beautiful paintings

jane augenstein said...

BEAUTIFUL painting! Thanks for sharing, very, very nice!

panavia999 said...

Thanks for posting so many lovely prints. I especially like the grey horse on the beach - very natural. I also like the girl on the grey pony - because I'm a sucker for a grey ponies.

Susan said...

Which is YOUR favorite?

Julie said...

ha ha - I did leave that out - didn't I.. I think I like the woman riding the grey in the hunt field. There is something so wonderfully confident about her...(so so unlike me...at least not yet) ...so I look at her and want to be her!

ocmist said...

This was very interesting and such beautiful paintings!!! I love horses and horse art! So glad I decided to come over and check out your blog.

Thanks, too, for coming over to Corgi Country. I also have another blog, A Country Grammy's Walk With God, and I post my Tuesday's Show and Tails posts there. Tonight, I posted about one of my son's horses that lives here at our place. Some of my other Show and Tails posts have also been about other horses we've had.

On of the ladies that had horses where we boarded ours before moving out here, rode side saddle. Don't think I ever could have! Linda

Anonymous said...

Such gorgeous art and history! Thanks for visiting my blog yesterday. Did you get any snow?

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Oregon Equestrian said...

Once again, thanks for the education and the lovely pictures.