- NameJames Duffield Harding
- Sexmale
- Nationality/DatesEnglish, born 1798, dead 1863-12-04
- PlacesPlace of birth: Deptford, England, Storbritannien
Place of death: London, England, Storbritannien
Biography[GROVEart, 2001-08-30]
English painter, engraver and writer. Received his first lessons in painting from his father, J. Harding (d 1846), who was a pupil of Paul Sandby. In 1811 at the age of 14 he exhibited for the first time at the Royal Academy. He had lessons in watercolour painting from Samuel Prout and in 1816 he won the Society of Arts silver medal for landscape painting. He also learnt engraving from John Pye and subsequently became a skilled engraver and lithographer.
Harding travelled extensively throughout Britain and Europe painting topographical views, many of which were engraved and published in the landscape annuals. In 1836 he published Sketches at Home and Abroad, followed by a number of books on the teaching of drawing. John Ruskin was a pupil and a notable admirer of his teaching methods (particularly his theories on the drawing of trees, his speciality, and on direct observation from nature) and incorporated many of his lessons in the early volumes of Modern Painters. Harding's fame as a teacher has overshadowed his considerable gifts as an artist. [LJN]