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William Howard Hart
1863–1937
BirthplaceFishkill-on-Hudson, New York, United States of America
Death placeNew York, New York, United States of America
BiographyPainter William Howard Hart was a member of two important artists' colonies that flourished at the turn of the twentieth century: that in Giverny, a rural village in Normandy, France, and in Cornish, New Hampshire. Relatively little is known of Hart's life and work. He may have been related to painters James MacDougal Hart (1828–1901) and his older brother William Hart (1823–94), possibly being William's son; like them, he painted landscapes, but he also produced portraits and other figural works. Hart was born in Fishkill-on-Hudson, New York, and studied at the Art Students League in New York City with Julian Alden Weir. He then traveled to Paris to enroll at the Académie Julian, a popular school for young aspiring artists, where he studied under several French artists.
Hart may have first visited Giverny in 1888 and was surely there by 1889, the year he began to exhibit his work at the prestigious annual juried exhibition known as the Paris Salon. He lived primarily in Giverny until the mid 1890s, and returned for further visits until 1912. Almost no artwork Hart made in the village has come to light. However, he is remembered as a close friend of fellow American painters living in Giverny such as Philip Leslie Hale and Theodore Earl Butler, both evidently acquaintances from his student days in New York. Hart not only painted Butler's portrait, but sat for him for several works, including The Card Players (TF 1992.21) in the Terra Foundation's collection. Known to the Butler family as "Peggy," he occasionally occupied a house near theirs in Giverny, and was renowned for his interest in gardening.
Based in New York City for the remainder of his career, Hart was active in the city's art scene beginning in the 1890s. He spent his summers in Cornish, New Hampshire, in Matunuck, Rhode Island, and in Cazenovia, in upstate New York. In Cornish, he lived next door to and closely associated with sculptor Herbert Adams (1858–1945) and his wife Adeline. With Adams, Hart built an amphitheater for amateur musicals and masques, in which he performed. In Cornish, as in Giverny, Hart cultivated a magnificent garden and he also painted landscapes and figural works, for which Adeline Adams often served as a model.
In the 1890s Hart exhibited actively in important annual salons at such venues as the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Academy of Design in New York, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Virtually nothing is known of his career after the turn of the century. Hart died unmarried and bequeathed most of his estate to Herbert Adams.
Hart may have first visited Giverny in 1888 and was surely there by 1889, the year he began to exhibit his work at the prestigious annual juried exhibition known as the Paris Salon. He lived primarily in Giverny until the mid 1890s, and returned for further visits until 1912. Almost no artwork Hart made in the village has come to light. However, he is remembered as a close friend of fellow American painters living in Giverny such as Philip Leslie Hale and Theodore Earl Butler, both evidently acquaintances from his student days in New York. Hart not only painted Butler's portrait, but sat for him for several works, including The Card Players (TF 1992.21) in the Terra Foundation's collection. Known to the Butler family as "Peggy," he occasionally occupied a house near theirs in Giverny, and was renowned for his interest in gardening.
Based in New York City for the remainder of his career, Hart was active in the city's art scene beginning in the 1890s. He spent his summers in Cornish, New Hampshire, in Matunuck, Rhode Island, and in Cazenovia, in upstate New York. In Cornish, he lived next door to and closely associated with sculptor Herbert Adams (1858–1945) and his wife Adeline. With Adams, Hart built an amphitheater for amateur musicals and masques, in which he performed. In Cornish, as in Giverny, Hart cultivated a magnificent garden and he also painted landscapes and figural works, for which Adeline Adams often served as a model.
In the 1890s Hart exhibited actively in important annual salons at such venues as the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Academy of Design in New York, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Virtually nothing is known of his career after the turn of the century. Hart died unmarried and bequeathed most of his estate to Herbert Adams.