John Wesley Hardrick

John Wesley Hardrick, 1910

Courtesy of Indiana University Indianapolis

John Wesley Hardrick was a Black artist from Indianapolis whose artistic talent became known when he won awards for his artwork exhibited at the 1904 Indiana State Fair. Through encouragement from Herman Lieber, Hardrick enrolled in the Herron children’s classes while in elementary school.

Hardrick later attended Emmerich Manual High School where he began his art education under Otto Stark. He enrolled at the Herron Art Institute in 1910 and studied under William Forsyth.

While art was Hardrick’s passion, he needed regular income to support his family, so he worked at a local foundry and could only attend Herron classes off and on. His first major exhibit took place in January 1914 at Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church. It included 56 paintings and drawings. He graduated in 1918.

Indianapolis Street Scene, John Wesley Hardrick, n.d.

Courtesy of Indiana Historical Society

Hardrick became a painter known for his landscape and portrait work. He won acclaim at several exhibitions including three Hoosier Salons (1929, 1931, and 1934) and the 1940 American Negro Exposition in Chicago.

During the Great Depression, the Public Works Administration commissioned Hardrick to paint a mural for Crispus Attucks. The piece, titled Workers, featured Black laborers sweating from work. The school displayed it briefly before removing it, preferring students be exposed to depictions of professional workers and not manual laborers.

The collections of the Indiana State Museum and the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields hold Hardrick landscape paintings.