A Basket of Chips: An Autobiography

Basket of Chips, introduction xiii

Introduction the painter in this medium that have a more freely expres- sionistic quality than is usual in his oils. A third point is that we are looking at Harwood from a much changed point of view in time than that existing in the 1960s. The search for sugges- tions of modernism in the works of our earlier artists had reached near hysterical proportions in some quarters by I96O- 63, in this as well as other regions of the nation. Within what is sometimes called the "post-modern" period of today, perhaps the Harwood restraint and more studied ap- proach to painting do not seem overly reserved or too conserva- tive. One can only hope that we are able to enjoy both the ordered statements of Harwood and the emotional fervor of "Utah's fauve," Henri Moser (1876-19X), for what they A validation of the late Harwood approach are - different. is stated bv a local writer as follows. He used a modernistic handling of color rendered with a sub- tlety that makes one feel the charm of the old world. Harbor scenes, studies of the sea and the shipping lanes along the Marseilles water front were deftly handled by him. He worked with ardor and joy that renewed itself in the blending of his pigments. He understood the sea and its changing moods. His mother told him many stories of the sea, and his love for water stayed with him all the days of his life.lO One thing is clear - Harwood was a talented and sub- stantial artist to such an extent that he is one who, among the ranks of Utah's early artists, can be criticized and discussed in the way one does the far above average practitioner. He does not have to be dealt with as the vulnerable, though loveable, pioneer struggler. He was instead, and as he himself said, by "profession, an artist." This last statement is never more the case than when deal- ing with the color prints of Harwood's last two decades of life. lo Elsie S. Heaton, ed., Pioneers of Utnh Art (Logan, Utah: Kaysvilie Art Club-Educational Printing Service, 1968), 75. . . . x222