Lawren Harris
Encyclopedia
Lawren Stewart Harris, CC
(October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970) was a Canadian painter. He was born in Brantford, Ontario
and is best known as a member the Group of Seven
who pioneered a distinctly Canadian painting style in the early twentieth century. A. Y. Jackson
has been quoted as saying that Harris provided the stimulus for the Group of Seven. During the 1920s, Harris's works became more abstract and simplified, especially his stark landscapes of the Canadian north and Arctic
. He also stopped signing and dating his works so that people would judge his works on their own merit and not by the artist
or when they were painted.
In 1969 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada
.
into a wealthy family – the Harrises of the Massey-Harris industrialists. He attended Central Technical School
and St. Andrew's College
. From age 19 (1904 to 1908) he studied in Berlin
. He was interested in philosophy
and eastern thought. Later, he became involved in Theosophy
and joined the Toronto Lodge of the International Theosophical Society. Lawren went on to marry Beatrice (Trixie) Phillips on January 20, 1910, and together had three children born in the first decade of their marriage. Soon after meeting and becoming friends with J. E. H. MacDonald
in 1911, they together formed the Group of Seven. The Studio provided artists with cheap or free space where they could live and work.
Later in 1918 and 1919, Lawren Harris with J. E. H. MacDonald financed boxcar
trips for the artists of the Group of Seven to the Algoma
region. Another painting trip after Algoma was to Lake Superior
's North Shore with A.Y. Jackson. Harris was so passionate about the North Shore and fascinated by the theosophical concept of nature, he returned annually for the next seven years. There he developed the style he is best known for. Harris’s paintings in the early 1920s were characterized by rich, decorative colours that were applied thick, in painterly impasto. He painted landscapes around Toronto, Georgian Bay
and Algoma. His first trip to the Rockies
in 1924 soon became annual, too, for the next three years. In 1930, Harris’s landscape paintings became simplified as he sailed with A.Y. Jackson aboard a supply ship.
Several members of the Group of Seven later became members of the Canadian Group of Painters
including Lawren Harris, A. J. Casson
, Arthur Lismer
, A. Y. Jackson
, and Franklin Carmichael
.
Harris finally left his wife of 24 years, Trixie, and his three children, and married Bess Housser in 1934. Harris was threatened with charges of bigamy
by Trixie’s family because of his actions. Later that year he and Bess left their home and moved to the United States. Then in 1940 they moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where Harris entered his abstract
phase.
Lawren Harris's Algoma Hill was stored in a backroom closet in a Toronto hospital for years and was almost forgotten about until cleaning staff found it. The hospital sold it at a Sotheby's auction, in 2005, for $1.38 million CDN.
On May 23, 2007, Pine Tree and Red House, Winter, City Painting II by Harris came up for auction by Heffel Gallery
in Vancouver, BC. The painting was a stunning canvas from 1924 that was estimated to sell between $800,000 - $1,200,000. The painting sold for a record-breaking $2,875,000 (premium included).
Harris's Nerke, Greenland painting sold at a Toronto auction for $2 million (four times the pre-sale estimate) on November 24, 2008
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970) was a Canadian painter. He was born in Brantford, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and is best known as a member the Group of Seven
Group of Seven (artists)
The Group of Seven, sometimes known as the Algonquin school, were a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920-1933, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael , Lawren Harris , A. Y. Jackson , Franz Johnston , Arthur Lismer , J. E. H. MacDonald , and Frederick Varley...
who pioneered a distinctly Canadian painting style in the early twentieth century. A. Y. Jackson
A. Y. Jackson
Alexander Young Jackson, was a Canadian painter and a founding member of the Group of Seven.- Early life and training :...
has been quoted as saying that Harris provided the stimulus for the Group of Seven. During the 1920s, Harris's works became more abstract and simplified, especially his stark landscapes of the Canadian north and Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
. He also stopped signing and dating his works so that people would judge his works on their own merit and not by the artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
or when they were painted.
In 1969 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
Early life
Lawren Harris was born on October 23, 1885 in Brantford, OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
into a wealthy family – the Harrises of the Massey-Harris industrialists. He attended Central Technical School
Central Technical School
Central Technical School is a composite high school located at 725 Bathurst Street at Harbord Street in Toronto, Canada.C.T.S. offers a wide range of programs, including all core academic courses, as well as concentration and specialization in visual arts and technical studies. C.T.S...
and St. Andrew's College
St. Andrew's College (Aurora, Ontario)
St. Andrew's College, also known as SAC, is an independent school founded in 1899 located in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. It is a university-preparatory school for boys in grades 6 to 12, with a focus on academic achievement, athletics, and leadership development...
. From age 19 (1904 to 1908) he studied in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He was interested in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and eastern thought. Later, he became involved in Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
and joined the Toronto Lodge of the International Theosophical Society. Lawren went on to marry Beatrice (Trixie) Phillips on January 20, 1910, and together had three children born in the first decade of their marriage. Soon after meeting and becoming friends with J. E. H. MacDonald
J. E. H. MacDonald
James Edward Hervey MacDonald was a member of the famous Group of Seven Canadian artists. He is the father of Thoreau MacDonald.-Life:...
in 1911, they together formed the Group of Seven. The Studio provided artists with cheap or free space where they could live and work.
Career
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
trips for the artists of the Group of Seven to the Algoma
Algoma District, Ontario
Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1858 comprising territory as far west as Minnesota...
region. Another painting trip after Algoma was to Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
's North Shore with A.Y. Jackson. Harris was so passionate about the North Shore and fascinated by the theosophical concept of nature, he returned annually for the next seven years. There he developed the style he is best known for. Harris’s paintings in the early 1920s were characterized by rich, decorative colours that were applied thick, in painterly impasto. He painted landscapes around Toronto, Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...
and Algoma. His first trip to the Rockies
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
in 1924 soon became annual, too, for the next three years. In 1930, Harris’s landscape paintings became simplified as he sailed with A.Y. Jackson aboard a supply ship.
Several members of the Group of Seven later became members of the Canadian Group of Painters
Canadian Group of Painters
The Canadian Group of Painters was a collective of 28 painters from across Canada which came together as group in 1933. They succeeded the disbanded Group of Seven, whose paintings of the Canadian wilderness had been a strong influence on Canadian art....
including Lawren Harris, A. J. Casson
A. J. Casson
Alfred Joseph Casson, OC was a member of the Canadian group of painters known as the Group of Seven. He joined the group in 1926 at the invitation of Franklin Carmichael...
, Arthur Lismer
Arthur Lismer
Arthur Lismer, CC was an English-born Canadian painter and member of the Group of Seven.-Early life:At age 13 he apprenticed at a photo-engraving company. He was awarded a scholarship, and used this time to take evening classes at the Sheffield School of Arts from 1898 until 1905...
, A. Y. Jackson
A. Y. Jackson
Alexander Young Jackson, was a Canadian painter and a founding member of the Group of Seven.- Early life and training :...
, and Franklin Carmichael
Franklin Carmichael
Franklin Carmichael was a Canadian artist. He was the youngest original member of the Group of Seven.-Biography:The youngest of the Group of Seven, Franklin Carmichael was born in 1890. His father was a carriage maker...
.
Personal life
His school-time friend F.B. Housser was married in 1914 to a woman named Bess. Harris and Bess fell in love, but saw no way forward. For the two to divorce their spouses and marry would cause an outrage.Harris finally left his wife of 24 years, Trixie, and his three children, and married Bess Housser in 1934. Harris was threatened with charges of bigamy
Bigamy
In cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other...
by Trixie’s family because of his actions. Later that year he and Bess left their home and moved to the United States. Then in 1940 they moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where Harris entered his abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
phase.
Death
Lawren Harris died in Vancouver in 1970, a well-known artist. To Harris, art was “a realm of life between our mundane world and the world of the spirit.”Record sales
On Tuesday May 29, 2001, Lawren Harris's Baffin Island painting was sold for a record of $2.2 million (record up to that time). Before the auction, experts predicted the painting done by one of the original Group of Seven would top $1 million, but no one expected it to fetch more than double that. The painting, which has always been in private hands, depicts icy white mountains with a dramatic blue sky.Lawren Harris's Algoma Hill was stored in a backroom closet in a Toronto hospital for years and was almost forgotten about until cleaning staff found it. The hospital sold it at a Sotheby's auction, in 2005, for $1.38 million CDN.
On May 23, 2007, Pine Tree and Red House, Winter, City Painting II by Harris came up for auction by Heffel Gallery
Heffel Gallery
The Heffel Gallery Limited is a Canadian art gallery and fine art auction house headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1978 by businessman and art collector Kenneth G. Heffel, the gallery specializes in works by the Group of Seven as well as other significant Canadian and...
in Vancouver, BC. The painting was a stunning canvas from 1924 that was estimated to sell between $800,000 - $1,200,000. The painting sold for a record-breaking $2,875,000 (premium included).
Harris's Nerke, Greenland painting sold at a Toronto auction for $2 million (four times the pre-sale estimate) on November 24, 2008