CHESTER

See also:

• CHESTER HARDING (1792-1866)
• HARDING, JAMES DUFFIELD (1798-1863)

HARDING (1792-1866)  , American portrait painter, was born at Conway, Massachusetts, on the 1st of September 1792 . Brought up in the wilderness of New York state, Harding, as a lad of splendid physique, standing over 6 ft . 3 in., marched as a drummer with the militia to the St Lawrence in 1813 . He became subsequently chairmaker, peddler, inn-keeper, and house-painter, painting signs in Pittsburg, Pa., and eventually going on the road, self-taught, as an itinerant portrait painter . He made enough money to take him to the schools at the Philadelphia Academy of Design, and he soon became proficient enough to gain a competency, so that later he went to England and set up a studio in London . There he met with great success, painting royalty and the nobility, and, despite the lackings of an early education and social experience, he became a favourite in all circles . Returning to the United States, he settled in Boston and painted portraits of many of the prominent men and women of his time . He died on the 1st of April 1866 .