Don Ed HardyClimber2011
2011

About the Item
- Creator:Don Ed Hardy (1946, American)
- Creation Year:2011
- Dimensions:Height: 40 in (101.6 cm)Width: 26 in (66.04 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Lyons, CO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3242819283
Don Ed Hardy
In the world of art and fashion crossovers, there likely isn’t a more polarizing figure than Don Ed Hardy (b. 1945), a talented artist whose reputation as a tattoo master was blemished by the adoption of his work into a controversial fashion line. But there’s much more to Hardy’s story than the clothing — it begins with his revolutionizing the tattoo industry and ends with a bout of artistic redemption.
Born in Newport Beach, California, Hardy displayed an aptitude for drawing at a young age; he would go on to earn a degree in printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute, where he took illustration classes under the likes of Bay Area figurative painters such as Joan Brown. But rather than pursue a career as a fine artist, Hardy turned to tattooing as his main form of expression, studying under tattoo legend “Sailor Jerry” Collins before traveling to Japan to learn from tattoo master Horihide. These two icons would influence Hardy’s style, which he would develop in his own shop.
Hardy’s first space, Realistic Tattoo Studio, opened in 1974. It was modeled after Japan’s premium tattoo parlors and was the first appointment-only tattoo studio in the United States. (Tattooing was less than low-brow in America at the time. New York City, for example, criminalized the act in the early 1960s, and the law remained in place for the ensuing decades.) Hardy would go on to create elaborate, sprawling back and chest pieces for his private clients and soon opened an additional public studio called Tattoo City. The artist garnered recognition for his work in the academic community, earned the Tattoo Artist of the Year award at the World Tattoo Convention in Houston in 1979, and by 1982, he was copublishing books on tattooing. Hardy played a major role in changing the public’s perception of tattooing from something that had been relegated to the margins to mainstream body art.
Of course, that shift in perception would ultimately lead to Hardy’s licensing of his work in 2003 to fashion magnate Christian Audigier of lifestyle apparel brand Von Dutch fame. Audigier plastered Hardy’s drawings across flamboyant hooded sweatshirts, which found a niche among quite a few controversial celebrities, including cast members of American reality-television series — this tainted the brand with a negative connotation. Some turned against Hardy, decrying Audigier’s apparel as gaudy and tasteless.
“People began globally to know my images, my name and my signature, but they didn’t know there was a real person behind it,” Hardy told CNN. Hardy and Audigier’s partnership ended in a settlement after a court battle in 2009.
Hardy has returned to the world of fine art, with galleries, museums and collectors lauding his drawings and paintings. In 2019, Hardy became the subject of a retrospective at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Although he retired from tattooing in 2008, he still works closely with Tattoo City, which is currently managed by his son, Doug.
Find Don Ed Hardy’s richly illustrated prints and more at 1stDibs.

- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Lyons, CO
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- The Clairvoyant's DreamBy Fred StonehouseLocated in Lyons, COColor lithograph, Edition 25. I have a long history of exploring the possibilities of animal and naturalist imagery to fabulist ends. This work serves as allegory, political commen...Category
2010s Contemporary More Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Invites Into the World of the Eternal InstantBy Enrique ChagoyaLocated in Lyons, COColor lithograph, Ed. 30 Chagoya's newest prints, "Invites Into the World of the Eternal Instant" and "Expresses Nothing but the Self", are concerned with the current unsustainabl...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary More Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Big TopBy Don Ed HardyLocated in Lyons, COColor lithograph. Trial Proof. Hardy states: “The crawling black panther is one of the most elegant traditional American tattoo designs. It was first adapted by Milwaukee artist...Category
1990s Contemporary More Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Western PalsBy Red GroomsLocated in Lyons, COColor lithograph, Edition 40. Red Grooms is a painter, sculptor, printmaker, filmmaker, and showman par excellence. His major installations, “Ruckus Manhattan”, “The City of Chicago...Category
1990s Contemporary More Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Xiao LuLocated in Lyons, COColor lithograph/triptych, Ed. 25. Hung Liu’s Xiao Lu triptych was inspired by the artist’s encounters with two fallen deer. In November of 2008, Liu was taking a morning walk in th...Category
2010s Contemporary More Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- The Comedy of OblivionBy Fred StonehouseLocated in Lyons, COColor lithograph, Ed. 25. The artist describes this project: “I have a long history of exploring the possibilities of animal and naturalist imagery to fabulist ends. These works se...Category
2010s Contemporary More Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Poisson - Paul Guiramand - 1960s - Lithograph - ContemporaryBy Paul GuiramandLocated in Roma, ITPoisson is an original print: a colored lithograph, hand-signed in pencil on the lower right margin. An artist's proof in excellent conditions, including passepartout: 34 x 49 cm. ...Category
1960s Contemporary Animal Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- PEACE - Mandela, Former South African President, Signed, Symbol, Dove, branchBy Nelson MandelaLocated in Knowle Lane, CranleighNelson Mandela, Peace, Limited edition silkscreen with original signature Many people are unaware that Nelson Mandela turned his hand to art in his 80's as a way of leaving a legacy ...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Animal Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Birds - Lithograph by Marcello Pirro - 1970sBy Marcello PirroLocated in Roma, ITBirds is a lithograph realized by Marcello Pirro. Hand-signed, numbered, edition of 53/75 prints. The state of preservation is very good. The artwork represents a brilliant comp...Category
1970s Contemporary Animal Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Original Lowenbrau Munchen vintage beer poster with lion . (Löwenbräu München)Located in Spokane, WAOriginal Lowenbrau Munchen Vintage Poster with Iconic Lion - Conservation Linen Backed, Ready to Frame, Excellent Condition. (Löwenbräu München) The Original Lowenbrau Munchen Vint...Category
1960s Gothic Animal Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Original Philips Infra-Rouge vintage poster linen-backedLocated in Spokane, WAOriginal Philips Infra-Rouge vintage poster. Size: 23" x 31". Archival linen-backed French antique poster. It is archival linen backed and ready to frame. This fun kitchen poster...Category
1940s American Modern Animal Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- II Festival de la Melodia Costa Verde original vintage posterLocated in Spokane, WAOriginal poster: II FESTIVAL MELODIA DE LA COSTA VERDE, 1961. This image for the second music festival held in Gijon, a city in north-western Spain. Located on the coast of the ...Category
1960s Expressionist Animal Prints
MaterialsLithograph