The Artist - James T. Harwood
J. T. Harwood was born in Lehi, Utah, in 1860. In college, Harwood studied with Utah artists George Ottinger and Danquart A. Weggeland. In 1888, at their urging, Harwood became the first of a group of Utah-born artists to travel to France and study art in Paris.
While in Paris, Harwood met another American art student, Harriet Richards, and in 1891, they were married. In 1892, he became the first Utahn to have a painting in the prestigious Paris Salon. During the next few years, the Harwoods divided their time between a Salt Lake City studio and Paris, where they returned repeatedly for "refresher" experiences. In 1904, the Harwoods returned to Salt Lake City, and James taught art in the local high schools and painted in his studio.
During the period of 1907 to 1910, Harwood's work became more oriented toward color and somewhat broader in approach as he moved from Academic Realism to Impressionism. In April of 1921, his beloved Harriet died. Two years later, Harwood became the head of the art department at the University of Utah. As chairman, he developed an art program that emphasized drawing foundations and craftsmanship that was carried forward long after Harwood was gone.
In December of 1927, Harwood met and fell in love with a young literature student, Ione Godwin. Their relationship was considered scandalous because of the age difference of 47 years, but on June 1, 1929, they married. Harwood found in Ione the inspiration to begin a re-energized period of work. At 70, Harwood resigned from the University of Utah and took his family to Paris once again, where he painted, made prints, and participated in exhibits at the Salon. Over the next nine years, Harwood's art became recognized not only at home but also in the art museums of Europe. He remained in Europe until 1939 when the threat of war sent the Harwoods home to Salt Lake City, where he died in October of 1940.
Harwood is known for charming 'slice of life' genre paintings like the popular Boy and Cat: My Little Son, Heber James (1910, previously known as Boy with a Bun) and his Richard's Camp, Holiday Park-Weber Canyon (1888). He was also a gifted printmaker and watercolorist. Most unusual however, was that in his seventies, Harwood shifted his painting style, this time, to Neo-Impressionism, a relaxed form of Pointillism.
The Art
JAMES T. HARWOOD (1860-1940) Lehi/SLC
Boy and Cat: My Little Son, Heber James (Boy with a Bun), 1910
oil on canvas, 40" x 32-1/4" (101.9 x 82.0 cm)
Museum Purchase from artist, 1910.007
The artist's fifth and last child, Heber James Harwood (1905- ), is shown sitting on a pew from an old Latter-day Saint (LDS) chapel, which Harwood bought and put in his studio. The barefooted Heber James wears overalls while he sits and eats a raisin bun. A pet cat curiously sniffs, interested in the food, and the child's eyes tenderly engage the viewer. The picture is a warm embodiment of family life, painted by a caring father, James T. Harwood.
The painting is a combination of the Academic Realist and Impressionist styles. The emphasis on rational space, clarity, order, calm and quiet which Harwood adopted from the academic tradition is combined in this painting with the beginnings of the influences Impressionism would have on him. Through the use of the impressionist brush technique, Harwood was able to capture the essence of the young boy without resorting to minute details.
Concepts
Visual Art Core Curriculum - Utah State Office of Education
Under the Standard of Making, this print can help the student:
- create basic shapes in a variety of materials and combinations as a starting point for more complex subjects.
- identify the various media (materials) that may have been used to create this artwork (for example, canvas stretched onto wood supports, primer to seal the canvas, oil paints, solvents, brushes, and possibly rags).
- identify the various techniques that may have been used to create this artwork (for example, in some areas the colors were put on flatly while other areas required the blending of color, some areas are more detailed than others).
- identify the various processes that may have been used in creating this artwork (for example, an idea was sketched and then transferred to the primed canvas. An undercoating was then used to block in the various values, layers of color were added with each layer displaying more details. The finished painting was dried, varnished and framed).
Under the Standard of Perceiving, this print can help the student:
- identify the expressive properties value can have within an artwork (for example, a work that displays mostly dark values {low keyed} tends to have a somber or heavy mood while a lighter valued {high keyed} work appears more joyous and bright).
- create a work of art which uses a low keyed value range and then reproduce the same work with a high keyed value range.
Under the Standard of Expressing, this print can help the student:
- point out similarities and differences between the real objects and the ones portrayed in the print.
- create art that tells stories or describes experiences.
- identify some of the approaches artworks display (for example, some look real, others display strong feelings or emotions, and others are mainly concerned with the use of color, line, and/or shape).
Under the Standard of Contextualizing, this print can help the student:
- discuss how the concept of self is portrayed.
- identify different cultures portrayed through artworks.
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