HART, Thomas

c.1830 - 1916

Thomas Hart was born at Crowan, Cornwall and baptised in the local church on 31 January 1830, son of Thomas Hart, a ship agent's porter, and his wife Mary Trezise, daughter of Richard Trezise, farmer and seine-owner of Porthleven. By 1841, the family had moved to Falmouth in Cornwall and in 1851, Thomas was a 21-year-old artist, living at 34 Killegrew Street, Falmouth with his parents, 52-year-old Thomas and 45-year-old Mary, and his 18-year-old sister Mary. A self-taught artist and by 1854 was exhibiting his watercolours regularly at the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society and a year later was acting as a judge in the annual Fine Art competitions. As well as painting, he also taught art in Falmouth and in 1857 eleven of his pupils are recorded as winning prizes in the schools' section of the Polytechnic competitions. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1856 and a council member 1861/2 and was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Along with his painting, he also took an early interest in photography and in the early 1860s had a photographic studio in Plymouth, which he seems to have given up at the time of his marriage at Falmouth in 1862, to Louisa Fisher Hallamore, daughter of Alfred and Jane Hallamore of Penzance. In 1868 he had a house built at Polbream at The Lizard and in 1871 was living at Polbream Villa, Landewednack, Helston, Cornwall with his 30-year-old wife Louisa and six children, Herbert 7, Percy 6, both born at Falmouth with Maria Louisa 4, Sydney 3, Montague 2 and newly born son Tracy, all born at Landewednack. Hart exhibited at the Royal Academy and was a member of the Ipswich Fine Art Club from Polbream, The Lizard, Cornwall in 1890 and had exhibited some drawings and pencil sketches the previous year. Thomas Hart continued to live at Polbrean, The Lizard where he died on 27 August 1916, aged 86. The father of twelve children, seven of whom became artists including Horace Percival, Herbert Passingham, Claude Montague, Tracey Douglas, Ruby Irene, Marie Louise, and Sydney Ernest Hart.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from Polbrean, Lizard, Helston, Cornwall
1872 834 Kynance Cove, Cornwall
1873 707 Shipwrecked Mariners watching the breaking-up of their vessel by the flowing seas
         806 Carting Seaweed at Polpier, Lizard

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Works by This Artist