James Taylor Harwood was born in Lehi, Utah in 1860 into an arts-oriented family. He was the first of the late-nineteenth-century Utah artists to study in Paris.  As a painter, he his work shows the beginning of Utah impressionism.  As a teacher, he influenced the painting style and sensibilities of two succeeding generations.  He died in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1940.

Dan Weggeland and Alfred Lambourne, two noted Utah artists, were his early instructors and mentors.  He also studied under Virgil Williams in San Francisco.  In 1888, he began study at the Académie Julian under Jules LeFebre and Benjamin Constant and in 1889 and at the École des Beaux-Arts under Léon Bonnat in 1890. When he returned to Utah in 1892, Harwood opened the Salt Lake Art Academy where he and his wife, Harriett, gave private instruction. From 1904 to 1920, he painted, taught in local area high schools, and traveled to Paris frequently.  Harwood served as chair of the University of Utah Art department from 1923 to 1931.

Paintings like The Gleaners show evidence of Harwood’s French impressionist training.   Although his style can be characterized as tonalism moving into neo-impressionism, he did not rely on any school of art as a guide to expression.  Instead, he acquired the technique necessary to his present his personal interpretation. He strove for a conscientious imitation of nature, but rarely lost sight of the emotional character of his work.   His work always demonstrates an engaging rapport with his subjects.  Boy and Cat: My Little Son, Heber James (1910) is an example.  

J.  T. Harwood was the first Utah artist to have his paintings accepted in Paris Salon.   Preparations for Dinner (1892), Young Mechanic (1903), Boy Whittler (1904), and Adoration of the Ages (1905) were exhibited in Paris.

Biographical information on this page was adapted from the Springville Museum of Art.