1842 -1933 · Sussex, Paris, Antwerp and London

Horses, dogs, hunting scenes and rural paths give Heywood Hardy a distinctive place in the animal and sporting painting of Victorian England.

Heywood Hardy was born in Chichester, Sussex, in 1842, into a family of artists. His father James Hardy and several of his brothers, sisters and cousins practiced painting, often in the fields of landscape, animals and genre scenes. After initial training in Bristol, Heywood continued his studies in Paris and Antwerp. He copied masters at the Louvre, observed the French animal school and acquired a technique capable of uniting precise anatomy and living narrative. Installed in London from 1870, he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and acquired a technique capable of uniting precise anatomy and living narrative. Installed in London from 1870, he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and acquired a technique capable of uniting precise anatomy and a living story. Installed in London from 1870, he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and acquired a technique capable of uniting precise anatomy and a living story. Installed in London from 1870, he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and acquired a technique capable of uniting precise anatomy and a living story. Installed in London from 1870, he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and acquired a technique capable of uniting precise anatomy and a living story. Installed in the animal as a simple accessory. Horse, dog or cattle possess weight, attention and character; their reactions often organize the action as much as those of the riders. In Rendez-vous à l'auberge, mounts, characters and architecture make up the social moment which precedes or follows the hunt. A stile encounter transforms a passage in the fence into a small narrative scene where looks and gestures connect the figures. In the New Forest, Hampshire instead favors immersion in a landscape of woods and pastures, while A Summer Day in Cleveland combines animal life with the seasonal atmosphere. Hardy also paints portraits, creates etchings and provides illustrations at the Illustrated London News and Graphic. In 1880 he participated in the founding of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and then joined the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Its success is due to a very Victorian alliance: accuracy of observation, taste for storytelling and ideal of a campaign where human relationships, animals and landscape form the same world. The "Heywood Hardy" selection notably compares Rendez-vous à l'auberge and Dans la New Forest, Hampshire. Its reading favors the material.

Hardy observes the animal like an actor: a turned ear, a restrained step or tension in the neck is enough to give the rural story its rhythm and its truth.