After graduating from Columbia, Garde worked for 15 years in New York City's commercial interior design industry. In 1968, now married with four children, he began teaching art at Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York, and at a secondary school in Port Washington, New York, while continuing to paint professionally. In an effort to produce art full-time, Garde retired from teaching in 1984.
Painting
Abstract expressionist art mixed with surrealist and figurative elements defined Garde's early work. In the early 1980s, his subjects transitioned from rounded human figures to structural shapes, segueing to series of objects, such as chairs, vases and kimonos. Some of his paintings focus on a sequence of letters or numbers. Garde's work in Maine incorporates colors far more vibrant than those from his earlier years in New York. He has attributed this transformation to Maine's natural light, and wanting his paintings to be brighter and fresher in his advanced age. Some mediums include acrylics on canvases of various size, ceramic and clay sculptures, and Strappo prints. Garde had his first solo exhibition in 1970 in Huntington, New York. Over 40 years later, the Museum of Florida Art added his 8x24-foot, 16-panel mural Iconoclass to its permanent collection. Original pieces are displayed inside, with a reproduction installed on the building's exterior façade since the 2012 acquisition. His Rendered Kimonos series conveys a variety of sizes and forms. In 2001, the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, showcased the Japanese garb-inspired kimono paintings in a solo exhibition. Garde's work is on display as part of the permanent collections of the Portland Museum of Art, Farnsworth Art Museum, New Mexico Museum of Art, University of Wyoming Art Museum, Museum of Florida Art and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, among others.
Strappo printmaking
In the mid-1980s, Garde invented, developed and named Strappo printmaking, an artistic technique combining painting and printmaking that he teaches in workshops nationwide. Transferring dried acrylic paint layers from glass or another smooth surface onto paper or canvas produces a layered image's reversal and Strappo monotype. In celebration of his 90th birthday and as a New Year's challenge, Garde created one new Strappo print each day for the first 90 days of 2013.
Personal life
In 1984, Garde and his second wife, writer Barbara Kramer, moved to Belfast, Maine, where he set up a waterfront studio. In 1993, they purchased an additional home in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Garde splits his time between his art studios in Maine and Florida. Kramer died in 1998.
Garde was the subject of a 30-minute film about his life and art as part of the Union of Maine Visual Arts' nine-film series Maine Masters. He was also the subject of the hour-long film Harold Garde, Working Artist, directed by Dale Schierholt, about his life and work. The latter premiered at the Museum of Florida Art in 2009, presented in conjunction with the museum's retrospective touring exhibit, Harold Garde. Painting. 50 Years. In 2015, Harold Garde: Art & Spirit, a 60-minute documentary, was a Selection of the Newport Film Festival, among other festivals, and has had numerous showings, including the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in conjunction with the Strand Theatre and Farnsworth Art Museum and Maine Public Television.
