Heywood Hardy

Heywood Hardy was a painter illustrator and water colourist of animals sporting subjects and genre. He studied in Bristol and later settled in London. He was born in Chichester the youngest son James Hardy Snr (1801-79) and brother of David and James Hardy Jnr. Hardy left home at the age of 17 and earned a living by painting animal pictures. He was in great demand and was often invited to country estates to paint commissions. Hardy provided illustrations for magazines as well such as the Illustrated London News and The Graphic also producing etchings of his work. During the 1870s his career flourished and he was elected a member of a number of societies including The Royal Society of Painters and Etchers The Royal Institute of Oil Painters and The Royal Society of Portrait Painters.