Winter Landscape

Abstract

In his poem “The Hoosier Folk-Child,” native son James Whitcomb Riley paid tribute to his state in describing the riches of nature available to a young Indianian: “ ... He owns nor princely robe nor crown;—/Yet, draped in patched and faded brown,/He owns the birdsongs of the hills—/The laughter of the April rills; ... ” Such treasures of the land are devotedly depicted in works by John Wesley Hardrick (1891-1968). In addition to his skill as a painter, Hardrick was also noteworthy as an African American artist who contributed to the cultural renaissance that occurred in early decades of the 20th century in the African American community. Hardrick was born in Indianapolis, which would be his hometown lifelong. At a young age he evinced ability in painting, and in high school he received instruction from Otto Stark, who had an interest in figurative painting and was a member of the Hoosier Group, Indiana artists who painted in the Impressionist style. Around 1910 Hardrick enrolled in the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, with teacher William Forsyth (also part of the Hoosier Group) as a major influence in manner of landscape motif. Hardrick held in high esteem several European artists such as painters Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh for their emotional sense of color, and he used an impasto painting approach