He was born to James Harwood, a maker of
harnesses, and his wife Sarah Jane née Taylor. He displayed an early talent for art; taking lessons with the local painters,
George M. Ottinger,
Alfred Lambourne and
Dan Weggeland. This was followed, in 1885, by studies at the
California School of Design in
San Francisco, under the direction of
Virgil Macey Williams. He returned to Utah in 1887 and opened a studio, painting portraits and giving lessons. One of his students, Harriet Richards (1870-1922), would later become his wife. Her grandfather,
Willard Richards, was an
apostle in the
LDS Church and a counselor to
Brigham Young. By 1888, he had made enough money to go to Paris with his friend and former fellow student,
Guy Rose. There, they shared an apartment while studying at the
Académie Julian with
Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant,
Jules Joseph Lefebvre and
Jean-Paul Laurens. The following year, Harwood passed the entrance exam for the
École des beaux-arts, and worked under the direction of
Léon Bonnat. In 1891, he married Richards, who was also in Paris, studying at the Académie Julian. During their honeymoon trip, they stayed in
Brittany, at the
Pont-Aven Artists' Colony. After returning to Paris, he exhibited his painting, "Preparations for Dinner" at the Salon, which was praised by his former teacher, Bonnat. In 1893, he settled in Salt Lake City. There, together with
Edwin Evans and
John Hafen, he founded an "Academy of Art". That same year, Harriet exhibited one of her oils in the Utah Pavilion at the
World's Columbian Exposition in
Chicago, alongside "Preparations for Dinner". He made numerous trips between Salt Lake City and Paris. During those years, his style evolved from an
Academic, realistic approach to something more akin to
Impressionism. Harriet died in 1922 and, after an inactive period, he was named President of the Institute of Fine Arts at the
University of Utah, in 1923. It was there, in 1927, that he met a young literature student named Ione Godwin. Despite a forty-seven year difference in their ages, they were married in 1929, creating a minor scandal. As a result, he resigned his position and they moved to Paris, where they had two children. He painted (experimenting with
Pointillism) and exhibited until 1939, when the impending war forced them to return home. He died there the following year. ==References==