Copyright © 2021 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Hardesty G. Maratta was associated with Sosman & Landis from approximately 1884 to 1886. Hardesty became nationally known as a watercolorist, scenic artist, newspaper illustrator, color theoretician, and inventor.
“Hardy” Maratta was born in Chicago on August 22, 1864. He was the son of James B. and Mary Maratta. Unfortunately, I have uncovered little about his parents beyond a few city directory listings and some census reports. His father was living in Chicago by 1863, listed as a railroad agent and living at 222 S. Desplaines Street. He was associated with the same address in1865, although his occupation was listed as a clerk that year.
By 1882, the Marattas had moved up the street to 120 Desplaines. That year, Hardesty was listed twice in the city directory. The first time was as “Hardy Maratta,” an instructor at 504 W. Madison. His second listing in the directory was under the name “Harry Maratta,” a teacher residing at 120 Desplaines. 120 Desplaines is the same address where he and his mother would live six years later in 1888. I find it fascinating that 120 Desplaines was just a little north of his previous home, 222 Desplaines with Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church situated between the two addresses. “Old Pat’s Church” was located on the corner of Adams and Desplaines. Founded in 1846, the main building still predates the 1871 Great Fire, although it was added to over the years. The church has been described as the cornerstone of Irish culture in Chicago. To all indications Hardesty’s mother was Irish, and this may have explained their connection to the area for over two decades. By 1888 James had passed away, and only Mary and Hardy were listed as living at 120 S. Desplaines.
By 1883, Hardy Maratta was not only working with Thomas G. Moses at Sosman & Landis, but also going out on sketching trips. In 1883 Moses wrote that he went on sketching with John H. Young, Ed Morange and Hardesty Maratta. Of their excursions he wrote, “We certainly had some good trips. We were all working in watercolor. Most of our trips were along the river where we found good material and a lot of adventures – too numerous to mention.” In 1884, the four planned a trip west to Colorado. Moses wrote, “John H. Young, Edward Morange, Hardesty Maratta and myself talked and planned for over a year regarding a trip to the mountains of Colorado. In our everyday work of Scenic Painting, we were called upon to paint all kinds of mountain scenes, and, as we had never seen a real mountain, we had to rely upon photographs or magazine cuts for our ideas. So we were, naturally, anxious to see the wonderful piles of rock and earth. We started on the 15th of June 1884, at one o’clock P. M.” Moses’ travelogues detailed the journey from Chicago to Breckenridge, Colorado. Years later, he published the story as a series of articles for the Palette & Chisel Club’s newsletter. The series, entitled “Tom Moses’ Trips, Breckenridge, Col.,”began, “Thomas G. Moses’ work as scenic artist has taken him to many strange places. Sometimes he has gone to gather material and at other times to execute commissions. As he is a careful observer of men, customs and local scenes, this series of accounts of his sketching trips contains much of unusual interest.
Here is a link to the first article: https://drypigment.net2017/08/29/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-acquiring-the-fort-scott-scenery-collection-for-the-minnesota-masonic-heritage-center-part-192-tom-moses-trips-breckenridge-1884-fir/
After a week in Colorado, plans changed; Maratta and Morange were not prepared for the rough conditions and returned to the Windy City. Moses wrote, “Morange and Maratta were getting tired of the hard bed and indifferent food, so after a week of it they packed up and started east… We were sorry to see Ed and Hardesty go, as we had planned at least two weeks in the tent.” Regardless of Maratta’s early departure, this trip was one example of Maratta gathering source material for other commissions.
Maratta’s easel work increasingly gained recognition across the country. Although he continued to work as a scenic artist, Maratta’s water color and oil paintings appeared in a variety of exhibits from Washington State to New York. For example, in 1887, Maratta exhibited watercolors with the Indianapolis Art Association at the Masonic Hall (Indianapolis Journal, 17 April 1887, page 8). In 1890, his painting was included as part of an exhibition for the Northwest Industrial Exposition (Spokane Falls Review, 3 Aug 1890, page 6). In 1891, Maratta was one of many artists who exhibited at the Chicago Art Institute. Of Maratta’s work, the “Chicago Tribune” reported, “Hardesty G. Maratta, a Chicago artist of great promise, shows three pictures, two good ones and one that is not so good. The best one is called “An Effect of Evening” and has a marvelous sky, whose glow is reflected in some standing water in the foreground and also in the feeling it wakens in the one who studies it. “An Afternoon Sun,” by the same artist, is also good, but one can say that only in spots, as it were, for his “Road by the Willows.” In 1891 Chicago Directory, listed as an artist and living at 356 W. Madison. This was a new three-story brick building listed for sale by Griffin & Dwight in 1890. Maratta was basically living on the corner of N. Upper Wacker Dr. and West Madison Street, the same location where the current Civic Opera House stands and right near the Chicago Lyric Opera.
By 1892, Maratta was still working with several Sosman & Landis artists. He painted with Frank Peyraud, A. J. Rupert, Harry Vincent, and Thomas G. Moses, for William Haworth’s “Flag of Truce.”
In the mid-1890s, Maratta’s success as an easel artist landed him ever-increasing commissions. His work for the World Fair in Chicago prompted international travel. His 1892 US passport application described Maratta’s appearance at the age of 28 years old: black-brown hair, grey eyes, fair complexion, an oval face, small mouth, straight nose and broad forehead. A letter accompanied Maratta’s application:
“My Dear Mr. Brown,
The bearer, Mr. Maratta is an artist of Chicago. He is about to go to Spain in the interest of the Columbian Celebration Company and desires a passport. I will be personally obligated if you will see that he gets this document with all convenient dispatch. (letter to Wm Brown Aug 26, 1892).
Maratta also partnered with another Sosman & Landis employee, Frank C. Peyraud, around this time. Maratta and Peyraud worked with Steele MacKaye (1842–1894) on his Spectatorium, designed to be the biggest auditorium and part of the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Maratta was specifically hired to head MacKaye’s scenic department. In 1892 Maratta committed to a fifteen-year contract with MacKaye during the planning and development stage. On September 25, 1892, the “Chicago Herald” described the much-anticipated venture: “After months of preliminary work, the initiatory steps for the construction of the biggest auditorium of the world were taken yesterday. A building permit was issued to the Columbus Celebration Company to erect a “Spectatorium” at numbers 1 to 27 on Fifty-sixth Street. The structure is to be six stories in height, 480 by 240 feet in dimensions and of frame and staff construction.” William LeBaron Jenney and W. B. Mundie were the architects of this endeavor, costing over $350,000 for the structure alone. This price did not include furniture, scenery or machinery. In the article, MacKaye was quoted that the undertaking was “the realization of full twenty years of fond dreams and much study in the realm of the spectacular.”
The Spanish Renaissance style building more ground than any other building planned for the fairgrounds. The front extended over 480 feet with a depth averaging 311 feet. The height was 100 feet and included a large dome in the center will be surmounted by a statue of Fame. The theatre would seat 9,200, with ample exits that could empty the house in about half the time of an ordinary theater. The stage proscenium was 150 feet wide with a proportionate depth and arranged so it could accommodate its flooding with real water at a depth of four feet. The scenery was planned to run with wheels on railroad irons, placed under the water. Each piece would be separately controlled from the prompter’s desk. The prompter will only have to push a button and the electric motor would do the work of 250 men. MacKaye’s vision for productions at his future “super theatre” were described in 1892. On September 25, 1892, “Chicago Herald” reported, “The character of the performances to be given are promised to equal Wagner’s most extraordinary dreams of all that a great dramatic-musical performance should be. The greatest orchestral music, especially written by the best composers, solos and choruses by eminent artists, all Illustrated by brilliant spectacular and. realistic pantomimes, will be presented. The story of the piece to be given will be the life of Columbus and the discovery of America. Ships of the actual size and appearance used by Columbus will be fully manned by sailors in exact reproduction of the characters of those times. The capture of Granada and the procession of Columbus and Isabella to the Alhambra as well as the surrender of Boabdil, last of the Moorish kings, will be especially grand and on an immense scale. The scenery costumes and music will be elaborate and picturesque, and the promoters claim that it will be the greatest of the kind ever attempted.”
Unfortunately, the project was deprived of funds during the panic of 1893. On February 27, 1894, the “San Francisco Call” reported, “The MacKaye Spectatorium has failed and will go into the hands, of a receiver. It has not paid expenses; and with the death of its originator, it passes out of existence.” The deprivation of funds and MacKaye’s sudden death in 1894 left Maratta’s contract “null and void.” The dismantling of the Spectatorium was covered in the Chicago Tribune on October 7, 1893. “The Spectatorium, the large pile of steel and wood at the north end of the World’s Fair grounds, which was to have housed the grandest theatrical representations in the world, is being torn down to be sold as scrap iron. The Spectatorium, as yet incomplete, cost $550,000. It was sold for $2,250. The project was that of Steele MacKaye. He broached it first last year to leading capitalists of Chicago and it met with favor. The plan was to build a structure sufficiently large to give a representation of the discovery of America on a scale larger than was ever attempted. MacKaye invented new methods of lighting which promised to revolutionize the methods of stage illumination. The life of the production was to have been a great chorus arranged on the principle of the old Greek chorus. The organization of the company proceeded well. Work was begun, hundreds of men employed, and actors and actresses contracted with and put on rehearsal. The Spectatorium failed and went into the hands of a receiver June 1.” Then, Building Commissioner declared that the Spectatorium must be torn down as it was dangerous. It took two hundred men, thirty days, and $15,000 to clear the site and remove the 1,200 tons of iron. The lumber was repurposed for sidewalks and the building of small cottages for working people.
This was a turning point for Maratta in many ways. He didn’t exactly walk away from all theatre work, but he increasingly focused on easel art instead of stage art. He continued his partnership with Peyraud and the two completed a large commission for the public library in Peoria, Illinois, in 1896. On June 7, 1896, the “Chicago Tribune” published a lengthy article on the project and the two artists. It reported. “A word about the artists who have achieved this notable success. Hardesty G. Maratta was born in Chicago and received his early art instruction at the school of the Art Institute. He has traveled much, making two trips abroad specially to study master pieces of artwork in the capitals of the Old World. He lived in the East several years and has been a frequent exhibitor in local and New York art exhibitions. He was one of the charter members of both the Chicago Society of Artists and the Cosmopolitan Art club.”
By the end of the century, Maratta spent significant time in the west and California. Some of his artworks remain in the Santa Fe Railroad Collection, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington; Fogg Museum, Harvard University; and the Hubbell Trading Post Museum, Ganado, Arizona. He also exhibited many scenes from his European trips too. In 1898, Maratta exhibited a series of watercolors at Thurber’s Gallery. The “Chicago Tribune” reported, “At Thurber’s gallery tomorrow H. G, Maratta’s exhibition of water colors will be opened to the public. The collection which will be shown consists of thirty-five picturesque scenes from the various points of interest about the Island of Capri and the Bay of Naples.. Mr. Maratta spent a part of the summer in these favored resorts of painters, and seems to have found their inspiration for broader and more effective painting than any he has hitherto produced. His subjects are chiefly streets of the Town of Capri, often narrow and tortuous, sometimes rising abruptly, and always lined with the picturesque, stuccoed walls of houses glistening in the sunlight or silhouetting in luminous shadow against clear turquoise skies of southern Italy. There are also views of the beach with many colored fishing boats drawn up on the sand, precipitous rocks rising from the bay, and horizons broken by the classic profiles of the spur of mountains which springs from the Apennines and breaks up in picturesque irregular masses on the coast. In others the smoking cone of Vesuvius is a feature of the distance…Mr. Maratta shows in this exhibition the ability to choose most interesting subjects and a dexterity in the use of his materials which insures pleasing results “ (page 31).
By 1900 the Federal Census listed Maratta living at 161 Dearborn Ave. on the north side of Chicago. He was staying at the Elroy, a furnished complex offering single and double rooms. He remained at this location while becoming increasingly active with the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1901, he was one of a jury for the annual watercolor exhibit at the Art Institute. He worked alongside Walter Burridge, William Boutwood and Miss Blanche Ostertag. Burridge was also a former Sosman & Landis scenic artist. Maratta didn’t completely abandon his scenic art roots and continued to work on theatre projects. He also applied for a scenic structure patent on Aug. 10, 1900 that was granted on July 9, 1901. His invention was for improved scenic realism on the stage with the use of curved wings and scenic pieces placed at an angle, enhancing the illusion of depth in a landscape setting. Here is the link to his patent:
In 1904, Hardy was still working as a scene painter. On May 14, 1904, “The Daily Palladium” of Richmond, Virginia” reported, Maratta was hired to paint the new drop curtain for the Phillips Opera House, announcing, “The new curtain will be a gem of beauty. Mr. Hardy Maratta, who is considered the best watercolor artist in this country, will paint the picture in the center of the curtain which will be the ‘Grand Canyon of Colorado’” (page 1).
On October 16, 1905, Maratta married Adeline Smith in DuPage, Illinois, and this really began a new chapter in his life as Maratta began to explore color theory. In later years he would later explain that while cleaning several paintings by Guido Reni, he first became convinced that color harmony was a well-known science from long ago; he just happened to rediscover these ancient Greek rhythms. In 1907, Maratta featured in a Chicago Tribune article entitled “Color Scale.” It was republished in papers across the country. He explained, “I began studying this subject when I discovered the analogy that exists between color, music, architecture, and chemistry. Music is a division of sound into harmonic ratios; architecture a division of space into harmonic ratios, and chemistry the division of elements in the same manner.” The article continued, “The blending and harmonizing of shades and colors were so exact in each of these that [Maratta] does not believe it could have been accidental. Examination of pictures by other old masters confirmed his belief…Harmony of color, heretofore depending solely upon the training and taste of the individual handling of pigments, has been reduced to an exact science as the harmony of music. This assertion of a great principle, forming the foundation for all art in which colors are used, is made by Hardesty G. Maratta, a Chicago artist, who has devoted the last twelve years to its solution.” In 1907, Maratta published the “Margo Color System” in Chicago.
On Dec. 3, 1908, Maratta applied for a “Color-Chart” patent that was granted on April 13, 1909. Intended for artists and artisans, the color chart was to enable a person to select a plurality of colors which would harmonize with each other without depending on an individual’s color-sense, following a fixed rule based on the arrangement of the color spaces on the chart. Harmonizing complementals and harmonizing contrasting colors could be easily identified.
Here is the link to his patent as it is really quite complex:
In 1909, “Scientific American Magazine” published the article entitled, “The Maratta system of color: Painting on a scientific basis” (Nov. 13, 1909, 311). The article noted “The Maratta chromatoscope chart illustrates how the harmonies, contrasts, melodies, chords, etc. are produced in a very simple manner. This chart is published at present for the use of printers. It is the scientific arrangement of the six colors and six hues that will enable a novice to select harmonious color combinations; it being so arranged that every seventh color is a complement, also showing the warm and cool colors, hues and tints on either side of the complement.”
The basis of his approach was also explained in the 1920 publication, “Arts & Decoration, Vol. XIV, No. 1. The author explained the color system of Maratta, writing that any system of beauty, whether it is created or follows a system, is built upon rhythm (Nov. 1920, pg. 1). When Maratta finally decided to devote all of his time to the study of color, he first experimented with fire-resistant colors, making many burnt clay pictures. Then he went into the factories where paints were made and studied them there. The article notes, “for a year, to demonstrate his theory, he painted stage scenery, using only three primary colors – yellow, red, and blue.” Maratta also worked as a designer of TECO pottery at Gates Potteries in Chicago. He was one of the artists commissioned by Juan Lorenzo Hubbell, owner of the Hubbell Trading Post at Ganado, Arizona, to copy Navajo rugs, especially the classic designs, in watercolor and oil. These designs were hung on his walls to encourage the rug weavers working during the duplication of the designs. Maratta studied the coloring of the plains of the Southwest after returning from his time abroad.
Maratta died July 21, 1924 in Woodstock, New York and is buried in Woodstock Cemetery. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136451457/hardesty-gilmore-maratta#
Hardesty G. Maratta’s gravestone.
On August 30, 1928, the “Kingston Daily Freeman” announced “Maratta Pictures Privately Shown” (page 14). The article reported, “Mrs. H. G. Maratta has announced that an informal exhibition of the paintings by the late Hardesty G. Maratta would be held at her studio (one of the Came Lasher studios)…Hardesty Maratta was a Chicago artist who twenty years ago gave up his successful career as a painter to manufacture the now famous Maratta Colors. His color scales, the ‘Triad’ of palettes for artists, have been adopted by leading artists and teachers the United States over.”
To be continued…
