Edward Fitzmaurice Chambré Hardman

1898-1982
Photographer.

He was born in Fox Rock, County Dublin, the son of a keen amateur photographer. By the age of fourteen he had entered and won several photographic competitions in magazines, including “Amateur Photographer” and “Photographer and Focus”.

Following family tradition, Hardman served in the army in India and here took some of his earliest soft-focus, painting-style pictures. It was during this time that he met and became good friends with Captain Burrell who became his business partner on their return to England. Together they set up the portrait business, on Bold street in Liverpool, Burrell’s home town.

As time went on Burrell and Hardman became the fashionable choice for portrait photography. This reputation resulted in Hardman being commissioned by the Playhouse Theatre in Liverpooll to photograph the up and coming stars of the time. Ivor Novello, Robert Donat, Michael Redgrave, and Patricia Routledge are just a few names that feature in the business records.

Landscapes had always been Hardman’s passion, and the images within these pages reflect his ‘pictorialist’ approach to his work, be it portrait, building, or landscape. Hardman would carefully compose his subject, making the best use of light and arrangement, but would not hesitate to improve the image back in the darkroom;

The portrait business prospered, and in 1948, the Hardmans moved to 59, Rodney Street, where they lived and worked together for the rest of their lives. Hardman officially retired as a professional photographer in 1966, although he continued to take photographs and exhibit his pictures. He was an honoured member of the Royal Photographic Society, and a respected member of the London Salon.

The National Trust owns his house in Rodney Street in Liverpool and exhibits a selection of his photographs there.