Harold Harvey

The artist Harold Harvey first came to my attention when I got a blog post into my inbox  from Persephone Books. It was one of their featured pictures (above) and it was love at first sight! I was immediately interested to know more about an artist I’d never heard of, or never seen before, and lucky for me my birthday was earlier this month and I got this book.

Harvey was part of the Newyln school of painters and he trained a little in France and painted the typical Cornish scenes that were popular. However in 1915 restrictions were put on painting the coastlines, everyone was a suspected spy so outdoor sketching was prohibited and the coastline was protected from being recorded and used by enemies. The artists wouldn’t want to be seen too often on the cliffs or they might face a jail sentence.

Titbits 1929 Harold Harvey

So this gave rise to changes in the subject matter available and Harvey in particular began painting interior scenes and left his early style behind. He developed a strong use of pattern and colour, which became his trademark, and he often achieved this through coloured and patterned clothing and furnishings.

Harvey experimented with using strong design and composition using clear verticals and horizontals.  The geometry and graphic nature of his work lends them a very modern air. The scene above could very well be one of our own homes today.

 Harold’s wife Gertrude often posed for him and his paintings show her love of fashion (she was a keen knitter and dressmaker) and their shared love of craft pottery.

His paintings capture the clear Cornish light and he uses clean colour’s. And apart from the rise in domestic scenes, his work also documents some of the changing times showing the new cut flower business now possible due to train links (above)  to the changing women’s fashions of his day (below).

I like his work because it depicts the domestic side of female life, which I find endlessly fascinating, and because his work makes me what to ask questions of the sitters – I’d like to climb into the scenes and join in with them. And that surly is the mark of a good picture. I hope he’s a new discovery for you too and that you enjoy his work.