Martin Hardie (artist) explained

Martin Hardie (1875-1952) was painter, printmaker, writer and museum curator.^[1]

Born in London, Hardie was an expert on watercolours, and painted many himself. He was a member of the Royal Watercolour Society.^[2]

In 1921 Hardie was appointed Keeper of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Victoria & Albert Museum,^[3] a position he kept until his retirement in 1935.^[1] James Laver, who worked under him, described him as 'the most considerate of chiefs, the most helpful of guides, the most delightful of friends' and said 'his is a refined and delicate talent founded upon good draftsmanship and an exquisite sense of atmosphere'.^[2]

In July 1925 he exhibited 6 works in the Fifth Annual Exhibition of the Australian Painter-Etchers’ Society, held at Art Gallery, Education Department, Sydney, NSW., (Catalogue of the Fifth Annual Exhibition of the Australian Painter-Etchers' Society, July 1925)

Published writing

• Watercolour Painting in Britain, posthumously published in 3 volumes between 1966 and 1968.^[2]

Volume I: The Eighteenth Century (1966), London: B. T. Batsford

Volume II: The Romantic Period (1967), London: B. T. Batsford

Volume III: The Victorians (1968), London: B. T. Batsford

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hardie, Martin, 1875–1952 . artuk.org . Art UK . 5 September 2022 . en.
2. Web site: Martin Hardie . www.tonbridgehistory.org.uk . Tonbridge Historical Society.
3. Web site: Stocker . Mark . A Suffolk Bridge . collections.tepapa.govt.nz . Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.