MORE RECENTLY UNEARTHED BITS & PIECES ABOUT CROTON NOTABLES HANANIAH HARARI, GLORIA SWANSON, AND GEORGE BIDDLE

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

OUR VERY POPULAR SERIES CONTINUES INTO 2026: MORE RECENTLY UNEARTHED BITS & PIECES ABOUT CROTON NOTABLES HANANIAH HARARI, GLORIA SWANSON, AND GEORGE BIDDLE. Click on the images and links.

As some of you may know, HANANIAH HARARI was one of the village's most notable residents. We stumbled upon this flyer for a 2014 exhibition of his work at the Unitarians. (Click on the image.)

For those who don't know, Harari--born Richard Falk Goldman---was a well known artist and teacher.  In the 1940s he produced artwork for the covers of magazines, including Fortune. He also contributed cartoons to The New Masses, which led to his being blacklisted (or in today's parlance, CANCELLED) in the 1950s during the McCarthy era.  Harari taught at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan from 1974 to 1990, and at the Art Students League from 1984 to 1999, where most of his classes were filled to capacity. He stopped teaching when he could no longer see. With the Reagan presidency, his political leanings became increasingly conservative. A patriot to the end, and per his request, his coffin was draped with the American flag. HERE'S A LINK TO A CIRCA 1960 PHOTO IN HIS CROTON STUDIO:  https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/items/detail/hananiah-harari-his-studio-7962

As many of you know, Gloria Swanson was one of the village's most notable residents.

(For more about Swanson and her Mt. Airy Croton home, click here.)

Check out this early promo page from 1919 and very young Gloria. 

Click on the image.

You may also enjoy seeing Swanson shooting at her Croton "estate".........Go to EverythingCroton: 1927, GET HIM, GLORIA!

As many of you know, artist/muralist George Biddle (and his wife, noted sculptor Helen Sardeau) were two of the village's most notable residents. 

Here is a 1939 newspaper blurb showing Biddle painting a mural for the DOJ. Read more about him at George Biddle - Wikipedia

You can read more about Sardeau here

SEE THE LAST EDITION OF OUR "UNEARTHED" SERIES: MORE RECENTLY UNEARTHED BITS & PIECES ABOUT CROTON NOTABLES MAX EASTMAN, GLORIA SWANSON, AND LENORE DOSKOW BY CLICKING HERE

Note: All content on this blog is Copyright (c) by Maria Cudequest and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content or photos may be republished or sold, without prior written from your editor and the individual who contributed the content in question. For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact the editor.