Harlan Hubbard
Encyclopedia
Harlan Hubbard was an American
artist
and author
who lived a life that Henry David Thoreau
only experimented with. Hubbard was born in Bellevue, Kentucky
. His father died when Harlan was only seven. Soon thereafter, his mother moved him to New York City
to be with his two older brothers who were living there at the time. Hubbard attended Childs High School in the Bronx and received his art education from New York's National Academy of Design
and the Art Academy of Cincinnati
. In 1919, he returned with his mother to northern Kentucky and settled in Fort Thomas, Kentucky
. One of his brothers, Lucien Hubbard
(1888-1971), became a famous Hollywood screenwriter.
As a young man, Hubbard saw the industrial development in America as a threat to the natural world and he thoroughly rejected consumer culture. In 1929 he started keeping a journal into which he poured his thoughts on society. In 1943, he married Anna Eikenhout (she died May 3, 1986). The following year they built a shantyboat
at Brent, Kentucky and traveled down the Ohio
and Mississippi
rivers, ending their journey in the Louisiana
bayou
s in 1951. His book Shantyboat recounts the eight-year journey from Brent to New Orleans. His book Shantyboat in the Bayous, which was published in 1990, completes the story.
In 1951, Harlan and Anna built a primitive, yet elegant home at Payne Hollow on the shore of the Ohio River in Trimble County, Kentucky
. It was there that the Hubbards lived lives that have been described as simultaneously frugal and abundant. To fully understand the Hubbards' lives and their rejection of modern society, Payne Hollow and Journals, 1929-1944 are essential reading. Author Wendell Berry
was a close friend of Hubbard's and has written and lectured on the Hubbards' lives.
Hubbard's art is largely pastoral and he was accomplished with oils, watercolors, and woodblock printing. The Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington, Kentucky
and the Frankfort Community Public Library (Frankfort, Indiana
) have significant collections of his work.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who lived a life that Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
only experimented with. Hubbard was born in Bellevue, Kentucky
Bellevue, Kentucky
Bellevue is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 5,955 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Bellevue is located in the extreme northern portion of Kentucky, directly across the Ohio River from the Mount Adams neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio...
. His father died when Harlan was only seven. Soon thereafter, his mother moved him to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to be with his two older brothers who were living there at the time. Hubbard attended Childs High School in the Bronx and received his art education from New York's National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
and the Art Academy of Cincinnati
Art Academy of Cincinnati
The Art Academy of Cincinnati is a private college of art and design, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, in Cincinnati, Ohio...
. In 1919, he returned with his mother to northern Kentucky and settled in Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Fort Thomas is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, on the southern bank of the Ohio River and the site of an 1890 US Army post. The population was 16,325 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in Campbell County and it is officially part of the Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky metropolitan...
. One of his brothers, Lucien Hubbard
Lucien Hubbard
Lucien Hubbard was a film producer and screenwriter. He is best known for producing Wings, for which he received the first Academy Award for Best Picture. Lucien produced and or wrote ninety-two films over the course of his career...
(1888-1971), became a famous Hollywood screenwriter.
As a young man, Hubbard saw the industrial development in America as a threat to the natural world and he thoroughly rejected consumer culture. In 1929 he started keeping a journal into which he poured his thoughts on society. In 1943, he married Anna Eikenhout (she died May 3, 1986). The following year they built a shantyboat
Houseboat
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a human dwelling. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities...
at Brent, Kentucky and traveled down the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
rivers, ending their journey in the Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
bayou
Bayou
A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...
s in 1951. His book Shantyboat recounts the eight-year journey from Brent to New Orleans. His book Shantyboat in the Bayous, which was published in 1990, completes the story.
In 1951, Harlan and Anna built a primitive, yet elegant home at Payne Hollow on the shore of the Ohio River in Trimble County, Kentucky
Trimble County, Kentucky
Trimble County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 8,125. Its county seat is Bedford. The county is named for Robert Trimble. Trimble is a prohibition or dry county. It is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan Statistical...
. It was there that the Hubbards lived lives that have been described as simultaneously frugal and abundant. To fully understand the Hubbards' lives and their rejection of modern society, Payne Hollow and Journals, 1929-1944 are essential reading. Author Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry is an American man of letters, academic, cultural and economic critic, and farmer. He is a prolific author of novels, short stories, poems, and essays...
was a close friend of Hubbard's and has written and lectured on the Hubbards' lives.
Hubbard's art is largely pastoral and he was accomplished with oils, watercolors, and woodblock printing. The Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington, Kentucky
Covington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
and the Frankfort Community Public Library (Frankfort, Indiana
Frankfort, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,662 people, 6,279 households, and 4,175 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,240.5 people per square mile . There were 6,682 housing units at an average density of 1,299.6 per square mile...
) have significant collections of his work.
Works
- Shantyboat (New York: Dodd, Mead), 1953. [republished as Shantyboat: A River Way of Life (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky), 1977. ISBN 0-8131-1359-8]
- Payne Hollow: Life on the Fringe of Society (New York: Eakins Press), 1974. ISBN 0-87130-040-0 [republished as a "new edition" in 1997 by Gnomon Press, ISBN 0-917788-66-4]
- "Payne Hollow" in Kentucky Renaissance: An Anthology of Contemporary Writing, Jonathan Greene, ed. (Lexington, KY: Gnomon Press), 1976.
- Harlan Hubbard Journals, 1929-1944 (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky), 1987. ISBN 0-8131-1616-3
- Oyo: An Ohio River Anthology (with Don Wallis) (Yellow Springs, OH: Oyo Press), 1987.
- Shantyboat on the Bayous (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky), 1990. ISBN 0-8131-1717-8
- Shantyboat Journal (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky), 1994. ISBN 0-8131-1868-9
- The Woodcuts of Harlan Hubbard: From the Collection of Bill Caddell (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky), 1994. ISBN 0-8131-1879-4
- Payne Hollow Journal (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky), 1996. ISBN 0-8131-1954-5
- A Visit with Harlan Hubbard (with Wade H. Hall) (Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Libraries), 1996. ISBN 0-917519-04-3
- Sonata at Payne Hollow: A Play (with Wendell Berry) (Monterey, KY: Larkspur Press), 2001.