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James Taylor Harwood (1860-1940) was born in Lehi, Utah. His father was a saddle and harness maker. Harwood began drawing as a child, making pictures of animals and portraits of his schoolmates. In his boyhood, he formed lifelong friendships with artists John Hafen and Cyrus E. Dallin. In his teens, Harwood carried mail and worked in his father's shop to earn enough money to go to art school.

At the age of 25, he entered the San Francisco School of Design. At the end of one year, he won a gold medal for the best painting of the year. In 1886, he returned to Utah, opened a studio, and taught art. Two years later he had saved enough money to go to France and enter the Ecole des Beaux Arts. From 1891 to 1893 he studied at the Academie Julian in Paris where he won a medal for painting.

In 1891, Harwood married one of his art students, Harriet Richards. They settled in Salt Lake City, after their sojourn in France, where he taught at East and West high schools. They had five children. During the next twenty-five years, the Harwoods divided their time between France and Utah. In 1920, the family moved to California due to Harriet's poor health. She died in 1922 and the family returned to Salt Lake City.

Harwood became head of the art department at the University of Utah in 1922. He held that position until 1931, when he resigned in order to devote more time to his painting. At the university, he taught the first class in color etching ever given in the United States. In 1929, Harwood married Ione Godwin. They traveled to Europe for two years where Harwood developed his impressionist painting technique. He became famous in Europe as well as in the United States and won many honors for his works. The Harwoods returned to California in 1939 with their two children, Jim and Lark. In 1940, the University of Utah assembled the James Taylor Harwood art exhibition. This exhibit was in honor of his 80th birthday and represented his life's work. He died in Salt Lake City on 16 October 1940. Ione Harwood passed away at the age of 96 in November 2003. Lark succumbed to cancer in October 1998.

From Jim Harwood: During the period of their marriage, "Ione was usually with [her husband] on his excursions searching for subject matter and would be nearby as he worked at his easel or drawing pad. Some of his works included Ione in the distance relaxing on a blanket or just on the grass within the scene, usually reading a book while he worked . . . children were sometimes there also."

Harwood "didn't creat the finished work in the field. He would make sketches, notes, and sometimes take photos for use back in the studio, where conditions were controllable and amenable for hours spent at the easel."