John Hardy (Artist)

Return of Time #14

1991

John Hardy was born in Tours, France, on March 23, 1923, to Charles Crum Hardy and the former Jacqueline Gadois. He lived in Brooklyn from age 1 to 6, when his family relocated to suburban Long Island. His mother died when he was 8, after which he was sent to live with another family in Roanoke, Va., while his father remained in New York. As a teenager, he lived with an aunt in Guilford, N.C He spent his childhood in various parts of the country including New York, Virginia, and North Carolina, and later lived in Florida and Georgia. His travels outside the USA include Europe, Greece, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, the Caribbean Islands, Panama, and Mexico.

In 1942, he married Betty Blackman, with whom he lived for 26 years and raised four children. He served in the Army from 1940 to 1945, spending 16 months in Europe during World War II. At age 52, he moved to New York City with Page Ogden, to whom he was married for 12 years. He subsequently lived with Naomi Lionni, who died in 1992.

He taught drawing and painting from 1958 to 1981, first at the Atlanta College of Art, and subsequently at the College of Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology and at New York University. A figurative painter known especially for his portraits, cityscapes, and seascapes, his work captured the depth and complexity of his subjects with empathy, humor, and, in some cases, astute social commentary.

According to Gail Levin, an art historian, professor, and author specializing in the art of the 20th and 21st centuries, “Like those of [Edward] Hopper and [Reginald] Marsh, Hardy’s paintings often imply multi-layered meanings, enabling him to distill the essence of a cultural moment. . . . He selects and manipulates with an uncanny power, achieving ironic realism.”

John C. Hardy, an artist and teacher who lived in SoHo and Springs, died of complications from a stroke at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City on Oct. 10 2014 in the company of Joan Semmel, his companion for the past 21 years. He was 91.