Thomas bush hardy biography

Biography

Thomas Bush Hardy belonged to the generation of later 19th-century marine artists whose careers developed in the wake of the success achieved by such watercolourists as Clarkson Stanfield, Edward William Cooke, Copley Fielding and Oswald Brierly – all of whom had made significant contributions to marine art.

Born in Sheffield, Hardy worked his way to America at the age of 19, where he enlisted on the Unionist side in the American Civil War.

However, his military adventure soon ended when, within a year, he was invalided out, returning to England in 1862. By 1870 he had settled in London, with a clerical job and a developing career as a painter specialising in coastal and marine views.

Although Hardy became a highly prolific artist and achieved popular success, nothing is known about his technical training, his artistic influences, or what attracted him to the sea in the first place.

It is generally assumed he was completely self-taught. His firs