Heywood Hardy (25 November 1842 – 20 January 1933) was a British artist, in particular an
animal painter
An animal painter is an artist who specialises in (or is known for their skill in) the portrayal of animals.
The ''OED'' dates the first express use of the term "animal painter" to the mid-18th century: by English physician, naturalist and wri ...
and painter of horse riding scenes. He also painted landscapes and portraits, especially
equestrian portrait
An equestrian portrait is a portrait that shows the subject on horseback. Equestrian portraits suggest a high-status sitter, who in many cases was a monarch or other member of the nobility, and the portraits can also carry a suggestion of chivalry ...
s.
Early life
Heywood Hardy was born on 25 November 1842 at
Chichester
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
in Sussex, the youngest of ten children of the artist James Hardy senior (1801 – 1879) and his wife Elizabeth. Before he became an artist his father was Principal Trumpet in the Private Band of Music of
King George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
. Other artists in the family included Heywood's elder brothers,
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
junior and David, his sister Ada and his cousins,
Frederick Daniel Hardy
Frederick Daniel Hardy (13 February 1827 – 1 April 1911) was an English genre painter and member of the Cranbrook Colony of artists.
Early life
Frederick Daniel Hardy was born at Windsor in Berkshire, the third of eight children of Georg ...
and
George Hardy. Heywood's ancestors were from
Horsforth
Horsforth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a p ...
in Yorkshire;
Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, First Earl of Cranbrook, was his second cousin.
When he was 17 years old Heywood Hardy left the family home in
Bath after an argument with his quick-tempered father and removed to
Keynsham
Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It has a population of 16,000.
It was listed in the Domesday Book as ''Cainesham'' (as it is pronounced), which is believed to mean the home of Sai ...
near Bristol. His first two paintings, landscapes, were accepted for exhibition at
The Royal Academy in 1864 In the same year he was appointed an Ensign in the 7th Somersetshire Rifle
Volunteer Corps, a part-time position. Later that year he left Keynsham to study at the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...
in Paris where his principal teacher was
Isidore Pils
Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin Pils (1815–1875) was a French academic painter of religious and military subjects.
Biography
Pils was born in Paris as the son of a soldier François Pils. At the age of twelve, he studied with Guillaume Guillon-Le ...
. Hardy spent much of his spare time copying paintings in the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
.
After his years of
bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people and with few permanent ties. It involves musical, artistic, literary, or spiritual pursuits. In this context, bohemians may be wanderers, a ...
in Paris, Heywood returned to England via Antwerp and by 1869 was living at
Goring in Oxfordshire, near the bridge over the Thames.
Animal painting
In 1870 Hardy removed to
St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...
in London and established himself as an animal painter. In 1873 ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' commented on his picture of fighting lions exhibited at The Royal Academy, "...we do not remember such a daring and determined piece of savage animal painting from an English hand – few from any hand since
Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
. The picture at once gives a great rise in artistic rank to the artist."
Hardy visited Egypt in 1873 to paint wildlife. In London he studied the comparative anatomy of animals and birds with Professor
Alfred Henry Garrod
Alfred Henry Garrod FRS (May 18, 1846 – October 17, 1879) was an English vertebrate zoologist.
Garrod was born in London, the eldest son of Sir Alfred Baring Garrod (1819–1907), a physician at King's College Hospital, who discovered ...
, Head of the Scientific Department at the
London Zoo
London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...
. He also made illustrations for Garrod's research on the
horse gait
Horses can use various gaits (patterns of leg movement) during locomotion across solid ground, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.Ensminger, M. E. ''Horses and Horsemanship'' 6th edition USA: Interstate Publisher ...
. To assist his studies of lions, Hardy acquired a lioness that had died at the London Zoo and had it mounted by
Rowland Ward
James Rowland Ward (1848–1912) was a British taxidermist and founder of the firm Rowland Ward Limited of Piccadilly, London. The company specialised in and was renowned for its taxidermy work on birds and big-game trophies, but it did other ty ...
, one of the foremost taxidermists of his day.
Horses and Equestrian portraits
Horses and horse riding were the subjects of much of Hardy’s later work. His pictures of horse riding by the seashore and riders in 18th century settings are among his most popular paintings. Hardy painted three winners of the
Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...
for their owners. He was much in demand to paint equestrian portraits and pictures of the most famous Hunts and foxhounds of his day. Notable portraits include that of Lady Ida
Sitwell; her husband
Sir George Sitwell commissioned it as a wedding present.
In 1909 Heywood Hardy returned to live in Sussex, at
East Preston, a few minutes walk from the beach. His last paintings were altarpieces for the thirteenth century Church of St Mary at
Clymping
Climping (also spelt as Clymping) is a village and civil parish containing agricultural and natural sandy land in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. The parish also contains the coastal hamlet of Atherington. It is three miles (5 km) ...
in Sussex and for St Luke’s Church at the
Royal Hospital Haslar
The Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire, was one of several hospitals serving the local area. It was converted into retirement flats between 2018 and 2020. The hospital itself is a Grade II listed building.
History
Formation and oper ...
, Gosport. Hardy’s ashes were buried at Clymping Church.
Heywood Hardy was a founder member of the
Royal Society of Portrait Painters
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a charity based at Carlton House Terrace, SW1, London that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture.
Its Annual Exhibition of portraiture is held at Mall Galleries, and it runs a commissio ...
, a founder member of the
Royal Society of Painter-Etchers
The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), known until 1991 as the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, is a leading art institution based in London, England. The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, as it was originally styled, was ...
, a member of the
Royal Institute of Oil Painters
The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London, England, and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists.
Histor ...
, and an Associate of the
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wa ...
.
File:Duty.jpg, ''Duty'' (1880)
File:A Summer's Day in Cleveland.jpg, ''A Summer's Day in Cleveland'' (1889)
File:Out for a Scamper.jpg, ''Out for a Scamper'' (ca. 1900)
Family and Music
Heywood's father was originally a musician and three uncles played in the Royal Private Band of Music, including his uncle William Hardy who was Conductor of
Queen Adelaide’s Private Band. Heywood played the
zither
Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...
,
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
and
English guitar
The English guitar or guittar (also citra), is a stringed instrument – a type of cittern – popular in many places in Europe from around 1750–1850. It is unknown when the identifier "English" became connected to the instrument: at the time of ...
. He often participated in musical evenings, as a singer and musician, in the country houses that he visited to paint portraits and pictures of horses and dogs.
In 1868 Hardy married Mary Beechey, daughter of Rear-Admiral
Frederick William Beechey
Frederick William Beechey (17 February 1796 – 29 November 1856) was an English naval officer, artist, explorer, hydrographer and writer.
Life and career
He was the son of two painters, Sir William Beechey, RA and his second wife, Anne ...
, FRS, President of the
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
. There were several artists in Mary’s family; her grandfather was the artist
Sir William Beechey
Sir William Beechey (12 December 175328 January 1839) was an English portraitist during the golden age of British painting.
Early life
Beechey was born at Burford, Oxfordshire, on 12 December 1753, the son of William Beechey, a solicitor, an ...
.
Two of Hardy’s four daughters were artists. His eldest daughter, Nina, exhibited 15 paintings at the Royal Academy, mostly portraits of women and children. And Mabel Hardy, who was always known as “Beldy”, a blend of Mabel and Hardy, was an artist and musician who won first prize for her studies at the
Paris Conservatory
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
. Beldy married Charles Ormond Maugham, elder brother of writer
Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
and partner in the family law firm in Paris. Beldy’s daughter,
Daphne Maugham Casorati, and her grandson, Francesco Casorati, were artists.
[Hardy (2016), pp.154,155]
References
External links
Paintings in UK public collections by, or attributed to, Heywood Hardy a
Art UK.org
Paintings by Heywood Hardy at
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons (or simply Commons) is a media repository of free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.
Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used across all of the Wikimedia projects in ...
Heywood Hardy a
Artrenewal.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Heywood
1842 births
1933 deaths
19th-century English painters
English male painters
Animal artists
British genre painters
People from Chichester
People from East Preston, West Sussex
19th-century English male artists