James H. Cromartie is an American artist credited with the birth of Hard-Edge Realism, a style by turns both redolent of and a departure from the Magic realism pioneered by Andrew Wyeth. The list of celebrities and wealthy patrons reported to be among his collectors is extensive and examples of Cromartie's work may be found in 125 countries across the globe. Domestically, Cromartie has been called, "one of America's leading historical artists," for his commissioned portraits of the White House, Smithsonian Institution, U.S Capitol and Supreme Court, among others. In 2005, James H. Cromartie's historical portrait of the White House was featured in the widely distributed art history textbook, ArtTalk, a distinction granted to a mere 25 living artists globally. Cromartie has resided year-round on Nantucket, Massachusetts for over 35 years, proudly quipping, "there are Nantucket artists, but then again there are…artists who have chosen to live on Nantucket. There's a b-i-g difference." Early life James H. Cromartie was born into one of North Carolina’s oldest and most prominent families, initially possessing over one-tenth of the state's entire territory. Despite the ease with which he could have obtained a career in civil service given his family’s numerous political connections, a young Jim found himself inexorably drawn to the world of fine art, relishing, in particular, the renowned realist artists, Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper. Cromartie remembers, “They had a small bookstore in the museum…as a young third and fourth grade child I would steal those little books from the Mint Museum. Well I didn't actually steal them all, I would buy one and take three, but I guess that's the same thing." Inspired by these canonical works, but only able to view the bookstore's reproductions, Jim would later inadvertently pioneer a style that would be uniquely his own, Hard-Edge Realism. First, however, an important patron was fated to enter the life of the young artist, James H. Cromartie. Rockefeller Patronage Late in the summer of 1969, Nelson and Happy Rockefeller paid a visit to James H. Cromartie's gallery on Nantucket. They bought two paintings that day for 600 dollars apiece. Jim remembers, “word spread across Old South Wharf and, then, across the entire town like a wildfire. ‘The Rockefellers only bought two paintings while they were on the island and they both were Jim Cromartie’s.’” The following summer Nelson Rockefeller returned to Cromartie’s gallery with longtime friend and college chum,