James Bard

1815-1897

American Artist

Bard was born in New York City. His career was devoted to the depiction of the vessels that traveled the Hudson River and the waters surrounding Manhattan. Although he painted a few schooners, sloops, and yachts, his energies were more frequently directed toward steamboats. His clients were shipbuilders, owners, and captains, and he is known to have frequented the shipyards to record colors and measurements for the vessels under construction. His mature works appeared to be so accurate that some observed "they could lay down plans for a boat from one of his pictures, so correct were their proportions." Though Bard's precise draftsmanship is exceptional, no record has been found to indicate that he studied mechanical drawing. It has been estimated that Bard painted nearly four thousand images of steamboats. While this figure may be exaggerated, it is consistent with the artist's prolificacy. He might very well have completed one painting per week throughout his life; two of his paintings, Boston and Ocean bear the date March 1850.