Lawren Harris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lawren Harris
CC, LL.D.
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Harris in 1926, photographed by M. O. Hammond
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| Born |
Lawren Stewart Harris
October 23, 1885 |
| Died | January 29, 1970 (aged 84) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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| Resting place | Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada |
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Notable work
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North Shore, Lake Superior, 1926 |
| Movement | Group of Seven |
Lawren Stewart Harris (October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970) was a famous Canadian painter. He is best known as one of the artists who started the Group of Seven. He played a very important role in Canadian art. Lawren Harris helped shape modern art in Canada with his amazing landscape paintings.
Contents
Early Life and Art Studies
Lawren Harris was born on October 23, 1885, in Brantford, Ontario. His family was quite wealthy. His father worked for a big farm machinery company that later became Massey Ferguson. This meant Lawren didn't have to worry about money his whole life.
When he was nine, his father passed away, and his family moved to Toronto. He went to St. Andrew's College and later the University of Toronto.
From 1904 to 1908, Lawren studied art in Berlin, Germany. He learned about different art styles like Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. He also saw many modern art shows. This trip helped him learn a lot about art before he came back to Canada.
Starting His Art Career
When Lawren returned to Toronto in 1908, he joined the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto. Here, he met other artists and writers. In 1910, he became friends with J. E. H. MacDonald. They went on painting trips together.
In 1913, Harris and MacDonald saw an exhibition of Scandinavian art in Buffalo, New York. This show made them realize they could create a unique Canadian landscape art. It inspired them to paint Canadian scenes in a new, modern way.
That same year, Harris invited A. Y. Jackson to Toronto. In 1914, Harris and his friend Dr. James MacCallum helped build the Studio Building. This building gave artists like Tom Thomson an affordable place to work.
Painting Trips and the Group of Seven
In 1918 and 1919, Harris helped pay for trips for artists to the Algoma region. They traveled by boxcar along the Algoma Central Railway. They painted beautiful landscapes in places like the Montreal River and Agawa Canyon. These trips helped Harris develop his painting style. He would make quick oil sketches outdoors and then use them to create larger paintings.
In May 1920, Lawren Harris, along with J. E. H. MacDonald, Franklin Carmichael, A. Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, and Frederick Varley, officially formed the Group of Seven. Their goal was to create a truly Canadian style of art.
Exploring Lake Superior
From 1921 to 1928, Harris often visited the North Shore of Lake Superior. He would go almost every October to paint. His paintings from this time show vast landscapes with strong light. He used fewer colors and a more simplified style. He wanted to show the spiritual side of nature in his art.
Painting the Rocky Mountains
In 1924, Harris went on a sketching trip with A. Y. Jackson to Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies. This trip started his love for painting mountains. He continued to explore areas around Banff National Park and Yoho National Park until 1928.
Journey to the Arctic
In 1930, Harris took his last big sketching trip. He traveled to Greenland, the Canadian Arctic, and Labrador on a ship for two months. He completed over 50 sketches during this journey. The Arctic paintings he created from these sketches marked the end of his landscape painting period.
Moving Towards Modern Art
Lawren Harris was always exploring new ideas in art. He was the only member of the Group of Seven who connected with European and American modern art styles. He was very interested in how art was changing.
In 1934, he started painting his first abstract pictures. Abstract art uses shapes, colors, and lines instead of showing things as they look in real life. Harris wanted to express ideas about the spirit and nature through his abstract art.
He moved to different places, including New Hampshire in 1934, New Mexico in 1938, and finally Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1940. From 1936 onwards, Harris fully embraced abstract painting. He believed that abstract art could express feelings and ideas more deeply.
Art Organizations and Honours
After the Group of Seven disbanded in 1933, Harris and the other surviving members helped form a new group called the Canadian Group of Painters. Harris was its first president. He also helped start the Federation of Canadian Artists in 1941.
Lawren Harris received many awards for his art. In 1926, he won a gold medal at an exhibition in Philadelphia. He also received honorary degrees from several universities, including the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. In 1961, he received the Canada Council medal. In 1970, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, which is a very high honour, given to him after he passed away.
Personal Life
Lawren Harris married Beatrice (Trixie) Phillips in 1910. They had three children: Lawren P. Harris, Margaret Anne, and Howard. Later, Lawren Harris married Bess Housser in 1934. He and Bess moved to the United States and then to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1940. Bess passed away in 1969, and Lawren Harris died in Vancouver in 1970. Their ashes are buried at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario.
Lawren Harris's Legacy
Lawren Harris left a lasting impact on Canadian art. A park in Toronto was named after him. His work has been shown in major exhibitions around the world. In 2015, a traveling exhibition of his work, The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris, opened in Los Angeles. In 2016, a film about his life, Where the Universe Sings, was produced by TV Ontario.
His paintings are highly valued. In 1981, South Shore, Baffin Island sold for $240,000, which was a record for a Canadian painting at the time. In 2001, his Baffin Island painting sold for $2.2 million. In 2016, his painting Mountain Forms sold for an amazing $11.2 million, setting a new record for his work.
See also
- The Studio Building
- The Indian Church (1929 painting, renamed Church at Yuquot Village in 2018 by the Art Gallery of Ontario)
- Alexandra Biriukova, the architect who designed Harris's residence located at 2 Ava Crescent in Forest Hill, begun in 1931
