ERNEST HARDMAN – PORTRAIT ARTIST

Ernest Hardman was born August 11, 1912 in Konawa, Oklahoma.  When he discovered his special gift and love of art he pursued it from an early age. He spent his early life in Cleveland where he studied at the Cleveland Art Institute and John Huntington Polytechnic Institute.  He moved to Detroit in 1939 and studied at the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts under Sarkis Sarkisian. During his lifetime he won numerous awards and honors.

His work is represented in the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Butler Art Institute of Youngstown, Ohio AND Howard University in Washington.  He is represented also in private collections in London, Germany, and Liberia and in the collections of Henry Ford and Alfred Pelham.

His painting "Black Madonna"  was exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Arts in 1960 and then purchased by the Nigerian government.  He discovered his love for art during his early school years.  While attending junior high school in Cleveland, he won a scholarship which enabled him to attend the Cleveland School of Art for two years.  He later studied at the John Huntington Polytechnic School of Art in Cleveland on a scholarship.

Ernest “Bill” Hardman died in 1967 after a lengthy illness. He was married to Estritch Hardman. Together they raised two children, Estritch Anita, and Donald.