James Bard

James Bard
America, oil on canvas by James Bard, 1851.
Born	James Bard (1815-10-04)October 4, 1815 New York City
Died	March 26, 1897(1897-03-26) (aged 81) White Plains, New York
Nationality	American
Education	None
Known for	Oil painting Watercolor painting

James Bard was a marine artist of the 19th century. He is known for his paintings of watercraft, particularly of steamboats. His works are sometimes characterized as naïve art. Although Bard died poor and almost forgotten, his works have since become valuable. Bard had a twin brother, John (1815–1856) and they collaborated on earlier works.

James Bard and John Bard were born in 1815 in New York City. Their father was Joseph Bard, who had been born in England. Their mother was Nellie Purvis Bard, who had been born in Scotland. They had at least two brothers (Joseph and George), two older sisters (Ellen and Mary) and one younger sister, Margaret. Sometime before 1843, Bard married Harriet DeGroot, who was six years older than he was. They had six children, but between 1843 and 1856 five of them died. Only their daughter Ellen survived.

Harriet's brother, Albert DeGroot, later became a steamboat captain and a wealthy man, who commissioned a number of works by James Bard.

The first known picture by the Bard brothers is of the steamboat Belona, done in 1827 when they were 12 years old. James continued to work with John through the 1830s and into the 1840s. It is not possible to tell which portions of the work were done by each brother. Their joint works are signed "J & J Bard" or "J & J Bard, Picture Painters." No work survives signed by John alone, but there are several signed "Jas. Bard." They began dating their work by 1836. When their father died in 1838, they were listed in the New York directory for the first time as "painters."

Their works in the 1830s were watercolor. They began improving their technique and moving into oil painting as a medium by the 1840s. There is only one instance recorded of a showing of the brother's joint work, this was in 1842 at a large display of work by other nautical artists held by the American Institute of City of New York at Niblo's Garden.

The last known joint paintings by the brothers were dated 1849. These were of the steamboats Wilson G. Hunt and Senator, both of which left the New York area in March 1850 to travel around South America to the California Gold Rush. After these paintings, there is no further indication of John Bard's participation. It has been suggested that he went to the gold rush, but there is no evidence as to John's whereabouts or activities during this time. John is known to have been admitted to the Blackwell Island alms' house, apparently in poor health. He died on October 18, 1856, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.