Della Brown Taylor Hardman

HARDMAN, Della Brown Taylor Della Louise Brown Taylor Hardman, age 83, artist, educator, lecturer, historian, writer, real estate broker, columnist, explorer and dear friend, died at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital on Tuesday, (December 13, 2005), following a brief heart-related illness. She was born on May 20, 1922 in Charleston, West Virginia. Her mother, Captolia Casey Brown, was a teacher and a graduate in the class of 1920 at Ohio University, and her father, Anderson Hunt Brown, owned a meat market in Charleston and later became a successful business man and real estate owner for fifty years. Following the death of her mother, she was raised by her Aunt Della Brown. Her aunt was a teacher, and always encouraged her to pay attention in school, especially in history. After graduating from Garnet High School in 1940, she enrolled in West Virginia State College, earning a B.S. degree in education in 1943. She continued her education at the Massachusetts College of Art, and earned her M.A. from Boston University in 1945. She was a strong believer in life long learning, and at 72 years old earned her Ph.D. from Kent State University. She also studied at numerous educational institutions both in the U.S. and abroad. While attending college, she worked throughout the summers at her father's real estate office, and was a licensed real estate broker in West Virginia until 1986. In 1946, she married Francis C. Taylor, Sr. and in 1952, she took a position with the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, where she remained for two years. From there, she began teaching art in the Boston Public Schools. In 1956, she became an associate professor of art at West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University), and she continued in that post for the next 30 years. During that time, she lectured at a number of other universities and art galleries, as well. She also hosted The Black Experience on WKAZ in Charleston between 1978 and 1988, which is slated to be re-broadcasted nationally by NPR in 2006. Throughout the course of her life, she served actively with a number of arts related groups, including service as the chairperson of the board of trustees of the Charleston Art Gallery and as a member of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) and the National Association of Art Administrators. She has been recognized as the Alumna of the Year by her alma mater, West Virginia State College; as the Outstanding Art Educator by the NAEA; and was named commissioner of the West Virginia Arts and Humanities Council by Governor John D. Rockefeller, among other honors. In 1986, she retired from West Virginia State College to embark on another journey of her life. She moved to Martha's Vineyard, an island community she began visiting in the 1930s. In 1987, after being a widow for nearly ten years, she married her high school sweetheart, Leon Hardman. Their lives together were active ones, initially splitting their time between the Vineyard and Hartford, Connecticut. Her community service included Nathan Mayhew Seminars, the Oak Bluffs Library, Featherstone Art Gallery, Vineyard Nursing Association, Martha's Vineyard Historical Society and the Martha's Vineyard Chamber Music Society. She has received numerous honors – most recently the Town of Oak Bluffs proclaimed July 29, 2005 as Della Brown Hardman Day. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Charleston, WV as well as First Baptist Church in Vineyard Haven, MA. Since 1998, she served as a columnist for the Vineyard Gazette, writing her weekly Oak Bluffs column, as well as other articles. Additionally, she was working on her memoirs, as well as, a biography study of William Edouard Scott an extension of her doctoral dissertation. Travel was an important part of her life, and she went all over the world including Europe, Korea, Carribean, Latin America, West Africa, often for art and cultural related activities. These travels provided a source of inspiration for many of her lectures. Della is survived by her three children, Andrea L. Taylor of New York City, Francis C. Taylor, Jr. of Los Angeles, California and Faith Taylor Kinard of Atlanta, Georgia; seven grandchildren, Wole C. Coaxum, Kamara A. Coaxum, Francis C. Taylor III; Kofi Coaxum; Taylor Solomon Kinard, Michael Taylor and Leon Romero Kinard; and a great-granddaughter, Quinn Marie Coaxum. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, December 18, 2005 at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in the name of Della Brown Hardman to The Oak Bluffs Public Library. The address is: Oak Bluffs Public Library, 56R School Street, P.O. Box 2039, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.