Most importantly, Harwood was ranked among the most substantial contributors to Utah impressionism. Actively producing oils, watercolors, pastels, pencil drawings, and etchings for over half a century, his works are prized items today in art galleries and institutions throughout the state. His personal account, along with the editor's informative notes, enhances appreciation not only of Harwood but of the issues that shaped the aesthetic sense among a sometimes hostile and mostly indifferent populace.

Robert S. Olpin is an emeritus professor of art history at the University of Utah. He is the author of the Dictionary of Utah Art; Utah Art; and Waldo Midgey: Birds, Animals, People, Things; and is the editor of A Basket of Chips: An Autobiography by James Taylor Harwood. Prior to his U of U tenure, he taught at Boston University and the Massachusetts College of Art.