Hardie Gramatky
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 Hardie Gramatky |
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| Born: | April 12, 1907 Dallas, Texas, USA |
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| Died: | April 29, 1979 Westport, Connecticut, USA |
| Occupation: | Painter, Author |
| Website: | www.gramatky.com |
Hardie Gramatky (1907-1979) was an American painter and an important representative of the California Watercolor school of painting. In a 2006 article in Watercolor Magazine, Andrew Wyeth named him as one of America's 20 greatest watercolorists. He also wrote and illustrated several children's books, most notably Little Toot.
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[edit] Early life
Hardie Gramatky was born in Dallas, Texas, the second of three sons born to Bernhard Gramatky and Blanche Gunner Gramatky. Ten years later, following the death of his father, his mother moved the family to the Wilmar – South San Gabriel area, a then semi-rural suburb a few miles east of Los Angeles. Here, Gramatky attended local schools in Wilmar, and then Alhambra High School in nearby Alhambra.[1] Displaying a precocious artistic talent, he began submitting his sketches to a "young folks section" published in the Los Angeles Times, and by the early 1920s had earned a reputation as the section's leading artist.[2]
[edit] Education
After high school Gramatky moved to Northern California to attend Stanford University. Though he majored in English he continued to study art as well, but after two years at the university one of his professors advised him that the school's art department had no more to teach him, and so he returned to Southern California where, in 1928, he enrolled in Chouinard Art Institute.[2] There studied with faculty members such as F. Tolles Chamberlin (the institutes co-founder}, Clarence Hinkle, Pruett Carter, and Arthur Millier, who was also then the art critic for The Times. Developing a deep interest in watercolor painting, he later said that during this period he produced an average of five small watercolors per day.[3] By 1929, he had become a proficient watercolorist and was recognized as one of the true innovators in the development of California Style watercolor painting. These skills helped him to get a job as a senior animator at the Walt Disney Studios.
In the early 1930s, he became active on the board of the California Water Color Society and it was largely through his aggressive moves that the California School of watercolorists was able to take control of the Society and expand it into a nationally recognized organization. In 1937 the Ferargil Gallery became his art agent in New York City and began selling his watercolors. He also exhibited works in other cities in America and established a reputation as one of California's premier watercolorists.
By the 1940s, he was producing commercial art to be used for magazine illustrations and began writing and illustrating a series of children's books. Hercules, Loopy, Creepers Jeep and Sparkey’s were all books he created, but Little Toot was the one that would become an all-time best seller. During World War II, he worked in Hollywood producing training films for the United States Air Force and after the war, moved permanently to the East Coast.
Settling in Connecticut he pushed a career as a commercial illustrator producing art for Fortune, Collier’s, Woman’s Day, True, American and Readers Digest.
[edit] Professional Organizations
Hardie Gramatky studied at Stanford University and the Chouinard Art Institute (Los Angeles); he was a member of the National Academy of Design, New York Watercolor Club, American Watercolor Society, and the California Watercolor Society.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Linda Gramatky Smith. "Memories of Hardie Gramatky". gramatky.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
- ^ a b Linda Gramatky Smith. "Memories of Hardie Gramatky". gramatky.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
- ^ Linda Gramatky Smith. "Memories of Hardie Gramatky". gramatky.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
