James Duffield Harding was an English painter, engraver and writer. He received his first lessons in painting from his father, J. Harding (d. 1846), who was a pupil of Paul Sandby (1731-1809). By 1807 the family had moved to Greenwich where Harding spent much of his time drawing and painting in Greenwich Park. 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 (1783-1852) and in 1816 he won the Society of Arts silver medal for landscape painting. He frequently contributed to the exhibitions of the Water-Colour Society, of which he became an associate in 1821 and a full member the following year. He was also largely engaged in teaching, and published several books developing his views of art-amongst others: The Tourist in Italy (1831), The Tourist in France (1834), The Park and the Forest (1841), The Principles and the Practice of Art (1845), Elementary Art (1846), Scotland Delineated in a Series of Views (1847) and Lessons on Art (1849). He also learnt engraving from John Pye (1782-1874) and subsequently became a skilled engraver and lithographer.

Collections

James Duffield Harding is represented in the following collections, among others: Art Institute of Chicago; the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco; the Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge, UK; the Louvre, Paris; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, U.S.A.; the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; the Courtauld Institute of Art, London; the Harvard University Art Museums, Massachusetts; the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; Norwich Museum, UK; the Tate Gallery, London; The Huntington Library, California; The Wallace Collection, London; Tyne & Wear Museum, Berwick upon Tweed, UK.

Source:
Sphinx Fine Art
http://www.sphinxfineart.com/Harding-James-Duffield-DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=45&tabindex=44&artistid=66627