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Hardrick spent his entire career in Indianapolis.

The subject of this painting is Nellie Henderson, a young girl about ten years of age.

 Little Brown Girl exemplifies Hardrick’s figure studies in floral settings.

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John Wesley Hardrick

Little Brown Girl, 1927

oil on canvas

21 1/1 x 29 5/8 in.

Gift of a Group of African American Citizens of Indianapolis

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John Wesley Hardrick was born and raised in Indianapolis and continued to paint there all his life.  He studied at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis under Hoosier Group artist William Forsyth.  Hardrick worked as an artist while holding down various jobs that included working in the family hauling business and driving a cab.  He kept his paintings in the trunk of his cab, using every opportunity he could find to sell them to his customers.  He worked for the Public Works of Art Project during the Great Depression painting murals for Crispus Attucks High School auditorium in Indianapolis. Hardrick’s subjects include portraits, autumn and winter landscapes and floral still lifes.

Little Brown Girl was one of a group of five works that received the 1927 Harmon Foundation bronze medal.  The Harmon Foundation presented awards to African Americans for distinguished achievement in the fine arts from 1926 to 1933.  The subject of this painting is Nellie Henderson, a young girl about ten years of age, chosen by the artist for her charm and beauty.  Little Brown Girl exemplifies Hardrick’s figure studies in floral setting.  Its brightly colored background, painted with a palette knife, is typical of the artist’s richly textured impressionist style. 

Reference

William E. Taylor, Harriet G. Warkel.  A Shared Heritage: Art by Four African Americans, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1996. ISBN-13: 978-0936260624