The unfading art of Lawren Stewart Harris…
Lawren Harris (1885–1970) is often considered the Group of Seven's organizer and informal leader, and he is widely regarded as Canada's most famous painter, with a continuous interest in his work.
Harris was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and came from a wealthy family of harvesting machinery manufacturers. He had the privilege of receiving a diverse education, both in Canada and in Berlin, where he was exposed to new artistic styles such as fauvism, expressionism, and symbolism that emphasized bold colors and unique perspectives.
At the age of 22, Harris returned to Toronto after a journey to the Middle East, full of new impressions. Due to his family's financial stability, he was able to fully dedicate himself to painting. At this point, Harris came across artists who shared his views on art and were also seeking their own paths in the field. They would later form the Group of Seven, but at that time, Harris assisted them by providing an affordable and comfortable place to work.
From left to right: A. Y. Jackson (1882—1974), Frederick Varley (1881—1969), Lawren Harris (1885—1970), Barker Fairley, Frank Johnston (1885—1970), Arthur Lismer (1885—1969) and J. E. H. MacDonald (1873—1932). Franklin Carmichael (1890—1945) is absent.
Taken at The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto.
Lawren Harris and Dr. James MacCallum, who was mentioned in our essay on Tom Thomson, financed the construction of a studio in Toronto. In 1915, Harris renovated a cottage behind this building to create a separate space for Tom Thomson, whose paintings and dedication to art had impressed Harris and inspired him to find his own way in the field.
The Group of Seven was formed in 1920 after Thomson's tragic death. Harris wrote that Thomson was already a part of the group even before it was named, like the other members.
During that period when Harris made his paintings, his admiration for Thomson's artworks and the influence of French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism can be seen. He glorified the beauty of nature and found brightness and vividness in urban scenes.
However, Harris' restless spirit of creative constant search that had already taken him from distant Europe to even more distant Palestine, re-awakened again. In 1918-1919, he organized and financed a railway trip for friends to the Algoma area, where they were captivated by the pristine beauty of Canadian nature, inspiring the formation of their future Group.
When looking at Harris's paintings from that period, one can feel that he was still haunted by the recent tragic loss of Thomson. Nevertheless, this is not an attempt to imitate the style of his late friend but rather a moment of spiritual closeness between two original creators with their unique approaches.
In the autumn of 1921, Harris visited the shore of Lake Superior, which sparked his imagination and inspired him for a long time...
Harris's use of color had started to evolve during this time. His depictions of water and sky, with their various tones of white, blue, and gray, are stunning in his paintings from those years.
In 1924, Harris and Jackson journeyed to Jasper National Park located in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Harris's artwork created during this trip conveys a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur and magnificence of the mountain ranges and peaks.
It was during this time that Harris came across Emily Carr, an exceptional painter whose unique artwork was still relatively unknown in eastern Canada. Carr's artistic pursuits fascinated Harris and other members of the Group of Seven.
Harris, an adventurous spirit, embarked on a new journey towards the north. In 1930, he traveled to the Arctic on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police supply ship and icebreaker, the S.S. Beothic.
During his two-month trip, Harris created over 50 sketches of future paintings. All of them depicted an eternal icy stillness, symbolizing the greatness of nature that leaves us in awe of its mystic power.
Harris continued exploring, traveling to Hanover (New Hampshire) in 1934 and Santa Fe (New Mexico) in 1938. Eventually, he settled in Vancouver in 1940.
Harris was fascinated by philosophy from a young age, and he studied religious teachings that had philosophical roots as well. His belief that art is the realm of life that lies between the earthly world and the world of the spirit drove him to search for spiritual truth.
He became the only member of the Group of Seven to turn his attention to abstract painting in the mid-1930s, and he did so deliberately.
In 1949, he published an Essay on Abstract Painting, and in 1954, A Disquisition on Abstract Painting was sent to press. In this study, he praised abstraction and described it as a "creative adventure in harmony with the highest aspirations and the search for truth, beauty, and expressive evocation and communication in our day."
However, Lawren Harris, a prominent artist, never stopped admiring earthly beauty, even though his paintings were full of the search for the spirit.
Lawren Harris contributed greatly to the development of Canadian painting and, after the Group of Seven disbanded, Harris and the other surviving members played a significant role in forming its successor – the Canadian Group of Painters. In 1941, Harris founded the Federation of Canadian Artists.
He became the first living Canadian artist to exhibit in the Art Gallery of Toronto in 1948, and in 1969 he received a Medal from the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 1970, Harris was designated as a National Historic Person for his "unique and enduring contribution to the history of Canada".
Sources: Art Gallery of Ontario; The McMichael Canadian Art Collection; The Ottawa Art Gallery; National Gallery of Canada; University of Toronto; Museum London; Art Gallery of Hamilton; Terra Foundation for American Art; WikiArt; Cowley Abbott; Art of Museums; Wikipedia; Royal Canvas; Toronto Life