David Hartt is a visual artist who creates work that unpacks the social, cultural, and economic complexities of his various subjects. He explores how historic ideas and ideals persist or transform over time. Hartt received his M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1994 and a B.F.A. from the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Ottawa in 1991. He has taught at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2011-2014) and the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College (2014-2015). He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design in the Department of Fine Arts.

Hartt has had solo exhibitions at LA><ART, David Nolan Gallery in New York, and Corbett vs. Dempsey in Chicago. In 2014, he participated in the Aimia Photography Prize exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Canadian Biennial at the National Gallery of Canada. His work is in public collections including The Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Whitney Museum, Henry Art Gallery in Seattle, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

David Hartt is the recipient of the 2012 Chicago Artadia Award.