FAMOUS ARTIST BIRTHDAY - LAWREN HARRIS

LAWREN STEWART HARRIS, CC

(October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970) was a Canadian painter born in Brantford, Ontario. He 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.

Shortly before his death he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

If you've read my blog and studied my work for a while, you will know my obsession with mountains and Lawren knew how to paint them. I love the Baffin Island paintings illustrated above. It is also an interesting collection because it shows just how different various images show the colours. To really know an artist's work you must see it in person.

Looking through my available catalog, the work which most echoes his style is

FALL MOUNTAIN
8" x 10" Wrap Canvas




The Group of Seven — Sometimes known as the Algonquin school — was a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933,
originally consisting of:-

Franklin Carmichael (1890–1945),
Lawren Harris (1885–1970),
A. Y. Jackson (1882–1972),
Frank Johnston (1888–1949),
Arthur Lismer (1885–1969),
J. E. H. MacDonald (1873–1932), and
Frederick Varley (1881–1969). Later,
A. J. Casson (1898–1992) was invited to join in 1926;
Edwin Holgate (1892–1977) became a member in 1930; and
LeMoine Fitzgerald (1890–1956) joined in 1932.
Two artists commonly associated with the group are

Tom Thomson (1877–1917)
Although he died before its official formation, Thomson had a significant influence on the group. In his essay "The Story of the Group of Seven", Lawren Harris wrote that Thomson was "a part of the movement before we pinned a label on it"; Thomson's paintings "The West Wind" and "The Jack Pine" are two of the group's most iconic pieces.

Emily Carr (1871–1945)
was also closely associated with the Group of Seven, though was never an official member. Believing that a distinct Canadian art could be developed through direct contact with nature, The Group of Seven is most famous for its paintings inspired by the Canadian landscape, and initiated the first major Canadian national art movement. The Group was succeeded by the Canadian Group of Painters in the 1930s, which did include female members.