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John Hardrick, Artist born

John W. Hardrick

*On this date, in 1891, John Wesley Hardrick was born. He was a Black painting artist.

Hardrick was from Indianapolis, IN, where he lived his entire life. He studied painting, sculpture, and drawing from 1910 to 1918 at the John Herron Art Institute under William Forsythe and Otto Stark. Beginning in 1928, Hardrick exhibited his work with the Harmon Foundation for five years, winning recognition for his realistic and expressive portraits of African Americans.

He received a Bronze Award from the foundation in 1927 for his work, Portrait of a Young Girl, and in 1933, he received a blue ribbon at the Indiana State Fair for his portrait Mammy. Supplemental income during these years came from managing a trucking company and working for the foundation.

Hardrick painted mainly portraits, figure compositions, and landscapes. He also painted murals at several high schools and churches in and around his hometown. He was also displayed at the Smithsonian in 1929 and the American Negro Exposition in Chicago in 1940. John Hardrick died in his hometown in 1968.

To be an Artist