James H. Cromartie

Who is James H. Cromartie?

James H. Cromartie is an internationally renowned American artist credited with the birth of Hard-Edge Realism, a style by turns both redolent of and a departure from the Magic Realism pioneered by Andrew Wyeth. The list of celebrities and wealthy patrons reported to be among his collectors is extensive and examples of Cromartie’s work may be found in 125 countries across the globe. Domestically, Cromartie has been called, “one of America’s leading historical artists,” for his commissioned portraits of the White House, Smithsonian Institution, U.S Capitol and Supreme Court, among others. In 2005, James H. Cromartie’s historical portrait of the White House was featured in the widely distributed art history textbook, ArtTalk, a distinction granted to a mere 25 living artists globally. Cromartie has resided year-round on Nantucket, Massachusetts for over 35 years, proudly quipping, “there are Nantucket artists, but then again there are…artists who have chosen to live on Nantucket. There’s a b-i-g difference.”