James H. Cromartie

James H. Cromartie is an internationally renowned American artist credited with the birth of HardEdge Realism, a style by turns both redolent of and a departure from the Magic Realism pioneered by Andrew Wyeth. The list of celebrities and wealthy patrons reported to be among his collectors is extensive and examples of Cromarties work may be found in 125 countries across the globe. Domestically, Cromartie has been called, one of Americas leading historical artists, for his commissioned portraits of the White House, Smithsonian Institution, U.S Capitol and Supreme Court, among others. In 2005, James H. Cromarties historical portrait of the White House was featured in the widely distributed art history textbook, ArtTalk, a distinction granted to a mereliving artists globally. Cromartie has resided yearround on Nantucket, Massachusetts for overyears, proudly quipping, there are Nantucket artists, but then again there areartists who have chosen to live on Nantucket. Theres a big dif

James H. Cromartie was born into one of North Carolinas oldest and most prominent families, initially possessing over onetenth of the states entire territory. Despite the ease with which he could have obtained a career in civil service given his familys numerous political connections, a young Jim found himself inexorably drawn to the world of fine art, relishing, in particular, the renowned realist artists, Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper. Cromartie remembers, They had a small bookstore in the museumas a young third and fourth grade child I would steal those little books from the Mint Museum. Well I didnt actually steal them all, I would buy one and take three, but I guess thats the same thing. Inspired by these canonical works, but only able to view the bookstores reproductions, Jim would later inadvertently pioneer a style that would be uniquely his own, HardEdge Realism. First, however, an important patron was fated to enter the life of the young artist, James H. Cromartie.

Source: Wikipedia