Hardie Gramatky, N.A. (1907-1979) Born: Dallas, TX; Studied: Stanford University, Chouinard Art Institute (Los Angeles); Member: National Academy of Design, New York Water Color Club, American Watercolor Society, California Water Color Society. Hardie Gramatky was raised in Southern California. He studied art with F. Tolles Chamberlin, Clarence Hinkle, Pruett Carter and Barse Miller. A dedicated student of watercolor painting, he produced an average of five small watercolors per day. By 1929, he had become a proficient watercolorist and was recognized as one of the true innovators in the development of California Style watercolor painting. These skills helped him to get a job as a head animator at the Walt Disney Studios.

In the early 1930s, he became active on the board of the California Water Color Society and it was largely through his aggressive moves that the California School of watercolorists was able to take control of the Society and expand it into a nationally recognized organization. In 1937 the Ferargil gallery became his art agent in New York City and began selling his watercolors. He also exhibited works in other cities in America and established a reputation as one of California’s premier watercolorists.

By the 1940s, he was producing commercial art to be used for magazine illustrations and began writing and illustrating a series of children’s books. Hercules, Loopy, Creeper’s Jeep and Sparky were all books he created, but Little Toot was the one that would become an all-time best seller. During World War II, he worked in Hollywood producing training films for the United States Air Force and after the war moved back to the East Coast.

Settling in Connecticut he pushed a career as a commercial illustrator producing art for Fortune, Collier’s, Woman’s Day, True, American and Readers Digest. From the 50’s on, he concentrated exclusively on fine art painting and writing and illustrating children’s books. His last book was published posthumously in 1989.

CaliforniaWatercolor.com is pleased to offer giclees of illustrations from Gramatky's classic childrens book "Little Toot" for the first time anywhere. Now parents, grandparents and teachers can purchase high-quality prints of the illustrations from the restored edition of "Little Toot" published in 2007. The publisher and Linda Gramatky Smith rescanned the original artwork so that it has the freshness, bright colors, and vibrancy of the first edition published in 1938 (which had been in print continually for 68 years). This edition has been lavishly praised on NPR by Daniel Pinkwater, and a Barnes & Noble and Amazon best-Seller. To see the Little Toot giclees, go to prints 62 - 77 for fifteen selections from the delightful book.

Biographical information:
Interview with Dorothea ("Doppy") Gramatky, 1983, and interview with Linda Gramatky Smith, 2008.

Biography courtesy of California Watercolors 1850-1970,
©2002 Hillcrest Press, Inc

California Watercolor

Watercolorist Ranked Among America's Best
By Frances Moore
Westport News
Article Launched: 12/06/2006

Westporters may remember him as the amiable artist who lived on Roseville Road for many decades. Parents may know him as the creator, author and illustrator of the Little Toot children's books (and subsequent videos). But to the art world, Hardie Gramatky is considered one of the great American watercolorists. That might be a subjective statement, but a recent recognition by one of the medium's masters, Andrew Wyeth, all but makes it a fact. In the 20th anniversary issue of Watercolor Magazine (fall 2006), the revered Wyeth placed Gramatky among the top 20 great American watercolorists.

"That is a very large honor from a very large person -- from a person who knows what he's looking at," said Howard Munce, a Westporter and well-known artist in his own right. "It's like the hall of fame."

According to critics and peers, Gramatky's work is different than anything else that had been done before. "His style was an original style. It was smashing contrasting colors," said Munce. "Watercolor is one of the most difficult mediums you can work in. He had that mastered."

A large part of Gramatky's life was spent in Westport, and many of the scenes depicted in his paintings were of his surroundings. A lot of changes have occurred in town since he died in 1979, so many of the local areas in his paintings are mere ghosts of the streets and beaches we see now -- some require a bit of imagination to match the now with then.

Paintings like "Turkey Hill" and "Old Mill Pond" are self-descriptive. Others featured scenes from his neighborhood on Roseville Road, like "Linda in Front Yard," "Country Road" and "Evening Quiet." Compo Beach was another popular site for Gramatky's paintings, with works like "Beach at Compo Sunset," "The Fisherman" and "Holiday."

His daughter, Linda Gramatky Smith, now lives in her parents' house on Roseville Road. When her mother, artist Dorthea "Doppy" Cooke Gramatky, died in 2001, Smith and her husband, Ken, took over the management of Gramatky's estate.

"Part of what made my dad so unusual [is] so often there's something happening in my dad's paintings. It's not just a scene -- there's something going on there," Smith said.

His use of color and treatment of light are what makes a Gramatky painting a Gramatky painting.

"I met the Gramatkys when I was I was in my late teens, they were friends of my wife's family. Hardie and Doppy were two of the nicest people I've ever met," said Will Rowlands, editor of the Westport News. "I was blown away when I walked into their livingroom and saw 'Moon Magic' hanging on the wall. His treatment of light is enchanting."

In a 1947 article called "The Watercolor Series," featured in American Artist, Gramatky was quoted as saying, "In my art student days, I was tremendously influenced by that sunlight painter, van Gogh. So much so that I spent most of my days outdoors, painting everything from the seacoast to the desert."

And he did paint just about everything. During one three-year period, Gramatky painted an average of five watercolors a day.

"My theory was a simple one," he said in the 1947 American Artist article. "I figured that the more you painted the more of a master of your medium you became; so that when you really had something to say, you said it directly, without having to consider the medium. My idea was to play my palette like a pianist plays a keyboard: never conscious of reaching for color or tone, but getting the most subtle shades of harmony with the greatest of confidence."

Though best known for his work in watercolor, Gramatky had talent in other areas as well, such as writing, illustration and animation. In fact, he got his start in those three fields.

Gramatky was born in Dallas, Texas, on April 12, 1907. After his father died in 1917, the family moved to South San Gabriel, Calif. Growing up in California put Gramatky literally in the right place at the right time -- the world of watercolor began utilizing the seaside scenes of the sunny West Coast to challenge the European artists who dominated the art scene at that time.

After high school, he headed to Stanford University, where he majored in English. While taking art classes there, a professor realized Gramatky's talent and encouraged him to transfer to Chouinard, a respected art school, to further his training. While at Chouinard, the energetic artist attracted the attention of his future wife. He also began working for an up-and-comer named Walt Disney, whose new character Mickey Mouse had just caught America's attention with the release of the film Steamboat Willie.

Gramatky stayed on at Disney after his schooling finished, and worked as an illustrator for some of the Mickey Mouse comic books. Always being a fast worker, he made time in his schedule to learn animation as well. He also found the time to get married in 1932. He signed a six-year contract with Disney, making $150 a week -- an equivalent of roughly $100,000 by today's standards. So when the stock market crashed in 1929, Gramatky was relatively unscathed.

"My folks were never opulent, they were just grateful for each other and grateful for being able to paint," Smith said. "They didn't have to experience that 'Brother Can You Spare a Dime'-type of life."

But working at Disney for the rest of his career wasn't really what Gramatky had in mind -- he had his own ideas, and wanted to make a name for himself. New York, he felt, was the place to be. He left Disney in 1936 with two letters of recommendation from Walt, which Gramatky never had to use. Disney would crop up again in Gramatky's life, but for the time being, Gramatky and his wife started a new life and new careers in New York. They began working as pictorial reporters and commercial illustrators for various publications -- Gramatky began at Fortune magazine, and Doppy at King Features. Then Colliers called -- a top-notch publication of the day. At this point, he finally felt some job security.

One day while Gramatky was watching the boats on the East River, he got an idea. According to his daughter, he wrote in his diary on Jan. 12, 1938, "IDEA -- do children's book on East River -- little boats as characters. Sketch character in them each day -- chesty little tugs pulling a big load."

Little Toot began to take form that year -- Gramatky would draw sketches and paint watercolors of tug boats, and began writing a story of a tug boat that would always get into trouble. After turning his work into a manuscript, Putnam eventually agreed to publish the book, Little Toot, which would go on to become an all-time best-seller, and Little Toot's worldwide travels would be documented in sequels, like Little Toot Through the Golden Gate and Little Toot in Venice. The books remain popular -- a restored edition of the book is due for release in 2007.

Unfortunately, Little Toot also unearthed one of the more seedy sides of the art business. The popularity of the Little Toot series attracted outside parties who were interested in animating and merchandising the little tug, namely the Walt Disney Company. Gramatky sold the rights to Disney, but never received any royalties for the merchandise, recordings or videos that were sold over the years.

"He [Gramatky] was such an honest person, he believed other people would be, too," Smith said. "My dad really saw Walt Disney as the father he never had He [Gramatky] was not a business man; he wasn't tough. He really trusted Walt Disney, but Walt passed everything over to Roy Disney." (Roy was Walt's older brother who acted as CEO and president of Disney, and was credited for handling its finances -- Walt usually handled the creative aspect.)

Despite that, the Gramatky family was never really in dire straights, financially. "My dad was so lucky because you never get rich with children's books, but the royalties would dribble in. Then he'd sell a piece, which would give him a chance to get the next book started," Smith said.

Though he was unable to enlist during World War II due to a curvature of the spine, he moved back to California briefly to supervise the production of training films for the U.S. Army Air Forces, under Capt. Ronald Reagan. Years later, during the Vietnam War, he again offered his services, flying to Vietnam as an artist-correspondent.

The Gramatky family moved to Westport in 1946. He continued to submit illustrations and paintings for publications in New York, and to imagine new adventures for Little Toot. He also joined forces with other local artists Walter DuBois Richards and Stevan Dohanos to create the Fairfield Watercolor Group. The three would invite nine other artists to join them once a month at one member's house. Each month the members would have to bring a new work with them to be examined and criticized by their peers. Eventually, Munce was invited to join the group.

"The main thing is that it forced you to do a painting a month, at least. If you were a commercial artist, you were used to deadlines. But this was a deadline above and beyond. The only person you had to answer to was yourself," Munce said.

Smith explained, "They would critique each other -- it would really never be hurtful. But at the same time you have 11 of your peers giving you ideas."

Gramatky also got feedback at home from his artist wife. "He valued her feedback incredibly I think it was really important to have another artist in the house to run things by," Smith said.

She said that her father really loved children and enjoyed working with them. Some may remember Gramatky's "Chalk Talks," which he gave at local elementary schools. He was also invited to other schools around the United States to give similar talks, including one back in his birthplace of Dallas, Texas, in 1979.

He encouraged the children to create for themselves. "What you've got to realize when you're an artist, this is the first time in your life that you're the boss You can put birds in the sky or you can put fish in the sea, or you can reverse it," he instructed.

By all accounts, Gramatky was sort of the Jimmy Stewart of the art world -- a master of his craft, highly regarded by his peers throughout his long career, yet genial, gentle, unaffected by fame and down-to-earth.

"He really was very humble," Smith said. "Someone would come up and say, 'My child wants me to read Little Toot 10 times a night.' It was like that was the first person that ever told him they loved Little Toot."

Smith said that he was always incredibly grateful whenever he was honored by the various societies. Just before he died of cancer, Gramatky found out that he was to receive the High Winds Medal from the American Watercolor Society. The morning of the ceremony, he collapsed and died shortly after.

"I went to New York for the dinner," Smith explained. "Part of me thinks that he was really holding on for that, it was so special."

Similarly, Munce agreed that Gramatky would have been incredibly honored to be mentioned by Wyeth.

"He would have jumped in the air, I'm sure," Munce said.

As for Wyeth, his family's name has been familiar to art lovers since the early part of last century, beginning with N.C. Wyeth, an illustrator and artist. His son, Andrew, surpassed his father's fame. His paintings can be found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, all in New York City, as well as the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the White House. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor from former President George H.W. Bush, among many, many other honors. Watercolor Magazine described him as "the man who shaped American watercolor for more than 60 years."

Even those who aren't among the art world's elite may remember the Andrew Wyeth painting that Snoopy couldn't part with in Charles Schultz's Charlie Brown comic strip. Wyeth's work also inspired M. Night Shyamalan's The Village and the look for the American version of The Ring.

Though the two never met, Gramatky and Wyeth were fans of each other's work throughout their careers.

Smith remembered, "My dad just loved Andrew Wyeth paintings, but several times he went down to the Brandywine Museum [where a large collection of Wyeth's work is on display]. I don't think he ever would have thought to say, 'Can I stop by and meet you?'"

Nevertheless, it's likely that had the two met, they would have become fast friends, if for nothing else, than for the love of their art.

"He [Gramatky] was a lovely man and he was dedicated to art," Munce said. "I couldn't think of a better honor. I'm very impressed and delighted."

California Watercolor