History of the Hardy
Nowhere in the Midwest are the arts more intertwined with the life of a community than Door County and nowhere in Door County is the passion to connect the arts to the community greater than at the Hardy Gallery in Ephraim, WI.
Founded in 1962 by the Peninsula Arts Association (PAA) in honor of Francis Howe Hardy, the Hardy Gallery has initiatives that address the needs of the local artist community and the creative enrichment of local youth, and is more focused than ever on educating the public and promoting the visual arts and artists of the Door County Peninsula. The Gallery is located on Ephraim's historic Anderson Dock – an integral part of Ephraim's history.
The Dock was built by brothers Aslag and Halvor Anderson in the late 1850s, and quickly became a turning point for the struggling village of Ephraim. Any vessel now sailing the shores of Green Bay would be able to dock in Ephraim's waters. Thirty years later, the Dock would serve as a standard port-of-call for passing steamships. The Goodrich, Hill, and Hart Line steamers would stop on their appointed rounds, bearing the summer visitors that would fuel Ephraim's economy around the turn of the century.
The Dock quickly became the business and social center of the community, with the Anderson Warehouse (the Hardy's home) being built around the same time. The Dock and Warehouse hold a lot of meaning for Ephraim residents and visitors alike, not to mention the decades of boaters who would paint their respective vessel's name on the Warehouse's clapboard siding.
The Francis Hardy Gallery is home to some of the most creative and popular gallery exhibitions in Door County, and once you visit, it is easy to see why established and emerging artists alike love to show their work in a simple wooden warehouse.
In addition to being recognized for its outstanding exhibits, the Hardy continues to fulfill Francis Hardy's vision to create a climate of understanding and appreciation of the arts. The Hardy is committed to providing the Door County community with innovative educational programming for people of all ages in the arts.
Anderson Warehouse
Aslag Anderson, who immigrated to the United States from Norway, and his friend Peter Peterson purchased 166 acres of shorefront property with the agreement that they would build a large deepwater dock for community use. This would ensure that goods such as cedar posts, shingles, salted fish, and cordwood could be exported from Ephraim. The first Anderson Warehouse was constructed on the edge of the Dock to house these exportable goods in 1858.
The original warehouse was destroyed in a storm, and the second warehouse was destroyed by fire in 1880. It was replaced with the Warehouse that stands today. The Dock and Warehouse were vitally important to Ephraim's well being and stood as the commercial center of the village until the 1920's. Profitability faded, however, as roads replaced shipping and by 1932 both the Dock and Warehouse had begun to deteriorate. A 1950 ice shove damaged them to the point of being dangerous.
In 1951 the Anderson family sold the Dock and Warehouse to the village of Ephraim. The Village in turn leased the warehouse to the Ephraim Historical Foundation, which assumed responsibility for its maintenance. The U.S. Department of the Interior placed this structure on the National Register of Historic Places.
From 1961 to 2000, the Ephraim Historical Foundation sublet the warehouse to the Hardy Gallery of the Peninsula Arts Association (PAA). Since 2001, the village of Ephraim has leased the warehouse directly to the Hardy Gallery.
Francis Howe Hardy
Along with having a sense for the strong artistic talent comes also having a strong sense of protecting and enriching that talent.
Francis Howe Hardy was a businessman, an amateur painter, and a summer resident in Ephraim from 1930 until his death in 1960. It was his ambition to create in Door County a climate of understanding and appreciation of the arts, which would attract both artists and art lovers to the area. To this end, he encouraged annual well-presented exhibits of artwork and as a charter member of the Peninsula Arts Association, he was instrumental in setting up an annual PAA exhibit. He worked tirelessly to influence the arts in Door County. In recognition of his efforts the PAA named their gallery at the Anderson Dock, the Francis Hardy Gallery.
Fairly late in life, Hardy began painting as a hobby and discovered a true talent. After a time of frustration with his efforts, he arranged to take painting lessons during several winters in Florida. His resulting watercolors reveal his talents. He enjoyed painting Door County scenery, especially detailed barns, landscapes, and seascapes. Some of his life's work reflected domestic life in Door County. Due to time constraints his output was limited, but a few Midwesterners are fortunate enough to have one of his paintings in their collections.
Francis, with the help of his wife Helen, inexhaustibly shaped Door County's art community. They made significant financial contributions and gave many hours of volunteer time to different cultural projects. They will forever be remembered for their positive influence on the arts in the Door County community.