On this of all days, I'm so deeply sad about the loss of my Maestro and dear friend Kenneth Hari, who passed away two days ago. Kenneth was a brilliant portraitist, painter, and sculptor since he was a young teenager. But not just a typical teenager---this 15-year-old was as entrepreneurial as he was gifted.
His family traveled to follow his father's band, and Kenneth made sure he was traveling in whatever place he landed. Key West, for example, where he swam in Tennessee Williams's pool, wrote art criticism for Key West newspapers, and knocked on doors, including the door of the Hemingway house, requesting portrait sittings. The chutzpah kid did about 10 drawings of the formidable Papa Hemingway, and the two liked each other. "You're good, kid. Keep going," Hemingway said, admiring the drawings.
The story of Kenneth Hari is too power-packed to have ended too soon. He married a gorgeous and wonderful woman, Xiaoyi, who championed his work, which rarely took a break.
He became well-known for his exquisite portraits of
- poet W.H. Auden,
- Greta Garbo,
- Pablo Casals,
- Salvador DalΓ,
- Marcel Marceau (who was quite chatty, Kenneth said),
- Fred Astaire,
- Ginger Rogers,
- Groucho Marx,
- Orson Welles,
- Otto Preminger,
- Louis Nizer,
- Giorgio de Chirico,
- Dustin Hoffman,
- Lauren Bacall,
- Isaac Asimov,
- James Earl Jones,
- Aaron Copland,
- George Balachine,
- Helen Keller,
- Dr. Linus Pauling,
- Robert Motherwell,
- Gene Kelly,
- Dolly Parton,
- and the list goes on
to more than 300 celebrities.
Kenneth did not want to be pegged as "celebrity portrait artist," though, because he was genuinely interested in their lives and their conversations, all during life sittings.
Every conversation I've had throughout the 30-some years of friendship with Kenneth was much chattier than the famous mime's.
Hari was bombastic, larger-than-life, and unforgettable. It seemed he knew everyone and everything.
His art education began early, and he later was a graduate of the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, earned a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art, and did graduate work at Yale, 1970, and NYU in 1988.
His work is in the permanent collections of more than 350 museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Vatican Museum, and, here in NJ, the Newark Museum and the New Jersey State Museum.
I always stood in awe of his talent; every time I wrote about him, I got the jitters, hoping he would like my words about him. What a truly grand guy! If I'll miss him terribly, I dare not even imagine how Xiaoyi is already missing him. And how many others who knew him will suffer the loss.
Kenneth told his wife he didn't want a funeral or memorial service, but just to be remembered like Cary Grant---just by name and profession. Alright then. Kenneth Hari, artist. 1947-2022.
Tova Navarra
(Works at Freelance writer, artist, art historian and critic, author)**** Response to Comments about this message above ***
I truly appreciate all your comments, likes, loves, and cares. I was very lucky to have known Kenneth, and Yi will always be a sister to me. As one does at a Passover dinner for Elijah, I will leave a place setting for Kenneth whenever Yi and my other guests come over for dinner. What a champion he was for the book I've been working on for four years, and I'm heartbroken that he won't see it. Thank you all for your sympathy. It does help. It's a great comfort.
Tova Navarra
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(πΉπ· TΓΌrkΓ§e Γevisi)
Bu gΓΌnlerde, iki gΓΌn ΓΆnce vefat eden Maestro ve sevgili arkadaΕΔ±m Kenneth Hari'nin kaybΔ±ndan dolayΔ± Γ§ok ΓΌzgΓΌnΓΌm. Kenneth genΓ§liΔinden beri parlak bir portre ressamΔ±, ressam ve heykeltΔ±raΕtΔ±. Ama sadece tipik bir genΓ§ deΔil---bu 15 yaΕΔ±ndaki, yetenekli olduΔu kadar giriΕimciydi. Ailesi babasΔ±nΔ±n grubunu takip etmek iΓ§in seyahat etti ve Kenneth, indiΔi yere seyahat ettiΔinden emin oldu. ΓrneΔin, Tennessee Williams'Δ±n havuzunda yΓΌzdΓΌΔΓΌ, Key West gazeteleri iΓ§in sanat eleΕtirisi yazdΔ±ΔΔ± ve Hemingway evinin kapΔ±sΔ± da dahil olmak ΓΌzere kapΔ±larΔ± Γ§aldΔ±ΔΔ± ve portre oturuΕlarΔ± talep ettiΔi Key West. KΓΌstah Γ§ocuk, zorlu Papa Hemingway'in yaklaΕΔ±k 10 Γ§izimini yaptΔ± ve ikisi birbirinden hoΕlandΔ±. "Δ°yisin Γ§ocuk. Devam et," dedi Hemingway, Γ§izimlere hayranlΔ±kla. Kenneth Hari'nin hikayesi Γ§ok erken bitmeyecek kadar gΓΌΓ§lΓΌ. Nadiren ara veren Γ§alΔ±ΕmalarΔ±nΔ± savunan muhteΕem ve harika bir kadΔ±n olan Xiaoyi ile evlendi. Εair W.H.'nin zarif portreleriyle tanΔ±ndΔ±. Auden, Greta Garbo, Pablo Casals, Salvador DalΓ, Marcel Marceau (oldukΓ§a konuΕkandΔ±, dedi, Kenneth), Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Groucho Marx, Orson Welles, Otto Preminger, Louis Nizer, Giorgio de Chirico, Dustin Hoffman, Lauren Bacall, Isaac Asimov, James Earl Jones, Aaron Copland, George Balachine, Helen Keller, Dr. Linus Pauling, Robert Motherwell, Gene Kelly, Dolly Parton ve liste 300'den fazla ΓΌnlΓΌye kadar devam ediyor. Kenneth, yaΕam oturumlarΔ± sΔ±rasΔ±nda hayatlarΔ±yla ve konuΕmalarΔ±yla gerΓ§ekten ilgilendiΔi iΓ§in "ΓΌnlΓΌ portre sanatΓ§Δ±sΔ±" olarak sabitlenmek istemedi. Kenneth ile 30 yΔ±llΔ±k arkadaΕlΔ±ΔΔ±m boyunca yaptΔ±ΔΔ±m her konuΕma, ΓΌnlΓΌ mimlerden Γ§ok daha konuΕkandΔ±. Hari abartΔ±lΔ±, hayattan daha bΓΌyΓΌk ve unutulmazdΔ±. GΓΆrΓΌnΓΌΕe gΓΆre herkesi ve her Εeyi biliyordu. Sanat eΔitimi erken baΕladΔ± ve daha sonra Newark GΓΌzel ve EndΓΌstriyel Sanatlar Okulu'ndan mezun oldu, Maryland Institute College of Art'dan BFA aldΔ± ve Yale, 1970 ve NYU'da 1988'de yΓΌksek lisans Γ§alΔ±ΕmasΔ± yaptΔ±. ΓalΔ±ΕmalarΔ±, Metropolitan Sanat MΓΌzesi, Vatikan MΓΌzesi ve burada NJ'de Newark MΓΌzesi ve New Jersey Eyalet MΓΌzesi de dahil olmak ΓΌzere 350'den fazla mΓΌzenin kalΔ±cΔ± koleksiyonlarΔ±nda yer almaktadΔ±r. YeteneΔine her zaman hayran kaldΔ±m; onun hakkΔ±nda her yazdΔ±ΔΔ±mda, onun hakkΔ±ndaki sΓΆzlerimi beΔeneceΔini umarak tedirgin oldum. GerΓ§ekten ne bΓΌyΓΌk bir adam! Onu Γ§ok ΓΆzleyeceksem, Xiaoyi'nin onu Εimdiden nasΔ±l ΓΆzlediΔini hayal bile edemiyorum. Ve onu tanΔ±yan kaΓ§ kiΕi daha zarar gΓΆrecek. Kenneth karΔ±sΔ±na bir cenaze veya anma tΓΆreni istemediΔini, sadece Cary Grant gibi sadece adΔ± ve mesleΔi ile hatΔ±rlanmasΔ±nΔ± istediΔini sΓΆyledi. Pekala o zaman. Kenneth Hari, sanatΓ§Δ±. 1947-2022.
Tova Navarra
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**** YukarΔ±daki bu mesajla ilgili yorumlara yanΔ±t ***
TΓΌm yorumlarΔ±nΔ±zΔ±, beΔenilerinizi, sevgilerinizi ve ilgilerinizi gerΓ§ekten takdir ediyorum. Kenneth'i tanΔ±dΔ±ΔΔ±m iΓ§in Γ§ok ΕanslΔ±ydΔ±m ve Yi benim iΓ§in her zaman bir kΔ±z kardeΕ olacak. Elijah iΓ§in bir FΔ±sΔ±h yemeΔinde yaptΔ±ΔΔ± gibi, Yi ve diΔer misafirlerim akΕam yemeΔine geldiΔinde Kenneth'e bir yer bΔ±rakacaΔΔ±m. DΓΆrt yΔ±ldΔ±r ΓΌzerinde Γ§alΔ±ΕtΔ±ΔΔ±m kitap iΓ§in ne kadar Εampiyondu ve onu gΓΆrmeyeceΔi iΓ§in kalbim kΔ±rΔ±ldΔ±. Hepinize sempatiniz iΓ§in teΕekkΓΌr ederiz. YardΔ±mcΔ± oluyor. Bu bΓΌyΓΌk bir rahatlΔ±k.
Tova Navarra
