1929-2016
“Born in 1929, I grew up in New York where, I became an apprentice bricklayer in a vertical city. Four years later, I was that third generation journeyman; who traveled to work wrapped around a sketchpad; came home to a wonderful wife and eventually enough children to move my easel into the kitchen.
There was a brief stint at the Art Students League, but the scheme of working on Manhattan’s high-rise buildings by day and taking classes at night, gave way to independent study as the road to self expression. This was a turning point for Harrington because, it was here that I was introduced to the teachings of Robert Henri, (1865-1929). Henri had distinguished himself as an instructor at the League, and was the mentor of those urbanized painters later dubbed, “The Ashcan School”.
Adhering to the tenets of Henri in his book, “The Art Spirit”, I was both determined and destined to forgo participation in juried exhibits during a painting adventure that has spanned more than six decades. Henri’s book is a verbal painting of the stepping stones to his perception, that I share with artists, collectors and friends.”