James Taylor ( JT ) Harwood

J. T. Harwood was born in Lehi, Utah on April 8, 1860. Harwood’s early formal art training came when he studied under Alfred Lambourne and Dan Weggeland, two prolific Utah artists. After their instruction, Harwood continued to pursue art and was taught by Virgil Williams at the California School of Design in San Francisco. Williams said that the painting Harwood used for his application to the school was ‘the best piece of work ever done by an applicant.’ While studying in San Francisco J T Harwood became acquainted with Guy Rose, who would go on to become famous in his own right. Together, the two traveled to Paris and studied at the Académie Julian. Later, Harwood was able to attend the École des Beaux-Arts and learned from Jules-Joseph Lefebvre and Léon Bonnat.

In 1890, Harwood returned to Salt Lake City and established a studio. He taught pupils for a time, but before long he and his wife, Harriet, returned to France. For the next few years, J. T. Harwood split his time between his studio in Salt Lake City and France. While in Paris, Harwood became the first Utahn to have his work displayed in the Paris Salon – which was a great honor at the time. By 1904, Harwood had relocated again Salt Lake City for a more long-term stay. He spent most of his time teaching at his Academy of Art, along with John Hafen and Edwin Evans and painting in his studio.  In April 1921, while living in Oakland California, Harwood’s beloved wife died. Two years later Harwood was made the head of the art department at the University of Utah.

In 1927, Harwood remarried a woman named Ione Godwin, who was 47 years his junior. Their relationship was not looked on with approving eyes, however, Harwood found a motivation in Ione that enabled him to paint with a renewed energy. In 1930, Harwood retired from his position at the university and began making return trips to France and Europe with his family. He painted and worked for nine more years until the danger of WWII forced him to return home. Harwood died in Salt Lake City in October of 1940.

J. T. Harwood’s artistic style shifted throughout his lifetime. Although he was considered an Academic Realist for much of his career this later shifted toward Tonalism, and later still to Impressionism. The style in which he painted in his early years in France went from a stricter and darker style to one that was looser and more simplistic. Harwood painted a plethora of subjects – portraits, landscapes, scenes, and still lifes. He loved to paint outdoor subjects and said of nature, ‘You see, nature talks to us, and she knows our disposition, so her conversation is in harmony with our thoughts.’