James McDougal Hart, the younger brother of painter William Hart, worked as an apprentice to a coach and sign painter in Albany before he went abroad to study in Munich and Dusseldorf under Johann Wilhelm Schirmer and others. He opened a studio in New York in 1857 and the following year was elected an associate of the National Academy. In 1859 he became an academician. He married amateur painter Marie Theresa Gorsuch in 1866, and their children Robert Gorsuch, Mary Theresa, and Letitia also became artists. Hart is associated with the Hudson River School, specializing in painting landscapes with cows and oxen.
From the description of Hart family photographs and clipping, 1865-[189-?]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122515142