Thomas Hardy (1757–1804) was a

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

born in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Biography

Not much is known about Hardy's background, life and career. He enrolled at the

Royal Academy School The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

s at the end of 1778, where records show he had turned 21 in the previous June. He exhibited some 31 paintings at the Royal Academy from 1778 to 1798 — practically all portraits — and four portraits at the Society of Artists exhibition in 1790. Thomas Hardy’s sitters included musical figures active in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

during the 1790s. Most of Hardy's portrait paintings were painted for the British music seller and publisher John Bland (c.1750 – c.1840). Bland appears to have commissioned oil portraits of several leading musicians of the day from Hardy, although the details surrounding this are uncertain, and published the resulting engravings based upon them.

Paintings

Thomas Hardy is known for the famous portrait of the composer

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

now hanging in the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

. The subsequent engraving, also by Hardy and published by Bland, has been widely reproduced and copied since it first appeared in early 1792. He is also known for the noted portrait of the composer and pianist

Muzio Clementi Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, who was mostly active in England. Encourag ...

. The stippled portrait was published on 31 October 1794 by the London music publisher John Bland No. 45 Holborn which is now at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. Thomas Hardy also painted the portraits of

Johann Peter Salomon Johann Peter Salomon (20 February 1745 aptized– 28 November 1815) was a German violinist, composer, conductor and musical impresario. Although he was an accomplished violinist, he is best known for bringing Joseph Haydn to London and for c ...

, Ignaz Pleyel,

Wilhelm Cramer Wilhelm Cramer (2 June 1746, Mannheim – 5 October 1799, London) was a famous London violinist and musical conductor of German origin. He was part of a large family who were connected with music during both the 18th and 19th centuries. He is ...

Samuel Arnold Samuel Arnold may refer to: *Samuel Arnold (composer) (1740–1802), English composer and organist * Samuel Arnold (Connecticut politician) (1806–1869), U.S. Representative from Connecticut * Samuel Arnold (conspirator) (1834–1906), co-conspira ...

, and

William Shield William Shield (5 March 1748 – 25 January 1829) was an English composer, violinist and viola, violist. His music earned the respect of Haydn and Beethoven. Life and musical career Shield was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, County Durham, th ...

(the last apparently commissioned one of the British music publisher John Bland's business successors,

Francis Linley Francis Linley (c.1771–1800) was an English organist and composer. Life Linley was born in Doncaster. Blind from birth, he received an education, and studied music under Edward Miller, also of Doncaster. Around 1790 Linley held the post of o ...

). Hardy exhibited four of these portraits at the Royal Academy:

and

in 1792,

in 1794, and

in 1796. Hardy’s portrait of Wilhelm Cramer is at the National Portrait Gallery, London, and his portraits of Joseph Haydn, Johann Peter Salomon and William Shield are at the Royal College of Music.

Uncertainties

The date of Thomas Hardy's death had been uncertain until now, but the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' of October 1804 states that he died "after a long illness" on 14 September 1804. His life before attending the

s was also a mystery. The diary of the topographical artist

Joseph Farington Joseph Farington (21 November 1747 – 30 December 1821) was an 18th-century English landscape painter and diarist. Life and work Born in Leigh, Lancashire, Farington was the second of seven sons of William Farington and Esther Gilbody. His ...

(1747–1821), states that Hardy was born in

and that he studied under Wright of Derby. Farington adds that he "died aged 47 in consequence of a cold caught at the Academy while painting Copies of the Portraits of the King & Queen for Lawrence", which is consistent with the ''Gentleman's Magazine'' notice.

Political reformer of the same name

The painter Thomas Hardy has sometimes been confused with another

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

: the shoemaker, radical, and founder of the

London Corresponding Society The London Corresponding Society (LCS) was a federation of local reading and debating clubs that in the decade following the French Revolution agitated for the democratic reform of the British Parliament. In contrast to other reform associati ...

who lived 1752–1832. Hardy the artist did paint the politician

John Horne Tooke John Horne Tooke (25 June 1736 – 18 March 1812), known as John Horne until 1782 when he added the surname of his friend William Tooke to his own, was an England, English clergyman, politician, and Philology, philologist. Associated with radica ...

, who was associated with Hardy the radical, and the latter two were both put on trial for high treason in 1794.

References

External links

Royal College of Music, An essay with Thomas Hardy's paintings
by Alan Davison in music iconography.
Getty DatabaseThomas Hardy (1757-circa 1805) at Npg.org.uk (National Portrait Gallery)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Thomas 1757 births 1804 deaths 18th-century English painters 19th-century English painters English male painters English portrait painters 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists