Martin Hardie

Martin Hardie was a British painter, printmaker, writer, and museum curator born in London in 1875. He studied at Cambridge and later at the Royal College of Art under Frank Short, developing a strong interest in etching and watercolour. Alongside making his own art, he became especially well known as an expert on prints and watercolours.

Hardie worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum, eventually serving as Keeper of the departments of painting and engraving, illustration and design before retiring in 1935. He was also a member of the Royal Watercolour Society. His writing helped make specialist art topics easier to understand, and works such as Engraving and Etching and English Coloured Books remained valued references for students, collectors, and general readers.

He is now remembered both for his own artwork and for his contribution to art history. His three-volume Water-colour Painting in Britain, published after his death in 1952, is widely described as a standard work on the subject.