Hughson Hawley

1850-1936

American (New York, New York)

Hughson Hawley was a self-taught watercolorist, theater-set designer and specialist in painting cathedral interiors. He was born in Brighton, England, and began his career by painting sets for the Theatre Royal in his hometown and, later, for the theater at Stratford-on-Avon, where his father was the town librarian. At the same time, he started sketching the countryside around London and became especially adept at drawing architecture.

After moving to New York City in 1879 at the invitation of the American producer James Steele MacKenzie, Hawley became a leading designer in America of theater backdrops. He maintained a studio in New York for fifty years, creating architectural renderings, working for such noted firms as McKim Mead & White. In addition to working for architects, Hawley created illustrations for publications such as Harper’s Weekly, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Century and exhibited at the American Watercolor Society and on a regular basis at the Architectural League. He retired to England in 1931 and spent the remainder of his life there.