Rachel Hartley

While many know Rachel Hartley (1884-1955) for her famous grandfather, Tonalist painter George Inness (who Hartley studied with in her youth), she was an accomplished artist in her own right. Renowned for her street scenes and cityscapes, she also brought an unusual Ashcan sensibility to Southern scenery — she said her career really began “on a train bound for Tarpon Springs, Florida,” on the state’s west coast, where she brought cypress swamps and peacock farms to life with a loose, vibrant grace. 

Born in New York, Hartley studied at the Art Students League under Robert Henri. She worked briefly painting portraits after graduating, but in 1916 her careful treatment of light and color earned her a spot as an illustrator on ornithologist William Beebe’s six-month expedition on behalf of the American Museum of Natural History to the jungles of modern Guyana (her brother, G. Inness Hartley, a researcher and artist, was also on the trip). 

Hartley maintained homes in New York City, Southhampton, and Florida throughout her life, allowing her access to a variety of scenes to portray (which she supplemented, too, with trips to Provincetown, MA, Virginia, South Carolina, and Europe). She held frequent summer exhibitions at her Southhampton studio, and included among her friends John Singer Sargent, James McNeil Whistler, and Childe Hassam. She was also an active member of the National Arts Club and the American Federation of the Arts.