1. James Bard was a marine artist of the 19th century.
17 Facts About James Bard
1. 2.
James Bard is known for his paintings of watercraft, particularly of steamboats.
3.
James Bard had a twin brother, John and they collaborated on earlier works.
4.
James Bard and John Bard were born in 1815 in New York City.
5.
Sometime before 1843, James Bard married Harriet DeGroot, who was six years older than he was.
6.
The first known picture by the James Bard brothers is of the steamboat Belona, done in 1827 when they were 12 years old.
7.
James Bard continued to work with John through the 1830s and into the 1840s.
8.
James Bard died on October 18,1856, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
9.
The break into works done alone by James Bard is marked by the oil paintings of the steamboats Ocean and Boston in March 1850, which are signed by James alone.
10.
The 1850s were a boom-time for ship construction in New York, and James Bard received many commissions from owners of newly built vessels.
11.
James Bard appears to have earned a modest living from his work, as he was listed as "artist" in various city directories, but his financial success was somewhat limited, as there is no record that James Bard ever opened a bank account or owned real estate.
12.
James Bard may have gone to California in the late 1870s, as he painted two vessels that were assembled there from prefabricated parts manufactured in Brooklyn.
13.
James Bard was almost forgotten by the time of his death in 1897, although he was the subject of a single obituary, probably written by his friend, the important marine artist and historian Samuel Ward Stanton.
14.
James Bard went to great lengths to get the details of the vessel correctly, including personally measuring the vessel in question.
15.
James Bard followed this practice, often painting the same vessel multiple times.
16.
In 1924, for the first time since 1842, two of James Bard's works were featured at an art exhibition.
17.
In 1997, James Bard works realized prices of over $200,000 at Sotheby's winter and fall auctions.