Lawren Harris 1885-1970
On the south side of Rosedale Valley Road west of Park Road is Lawren Harris Park. A large City of Toronto display there contains this piece of his artwork as well as biographical text which says:
Distinguished Canadian artist, Lawren Stuart Harris, was born in Brantford, Ontario in 1885. He was educated in Toronto and Germany, returning to work here in 1909. Harris was a patron and founding member of the Group of Seven, with fellow artists Frank Carmichael, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald and Frederick Varley. The Group of Seven first exhibited together in 1920 and formally disbanded in 1931. Harris helped to define a uniquely Canadian art, which the rugged beauty of Canada inspired. Harris and Dr. James MacCallum erected the Studio Building on Severn Street (adjacent to this site) in 1913 to help artists 'concentrate their energies on making a Canadian statement in art in Canadian terms'. Harris painted in Toronto and the wilderness areas of Ontario, the Arctic and the west coast of Canada, and in the United States. His work was influenced by Impressionism, Art Nouveau and Abstraction and infused with spiritualism. He and his wife, Bess, settled in Vancouver in 1940. He died there in 1970.
Location Co-ordinates: 43.673451 -79.384310
Photo by Alan L Brown - September 2006
Related page from my 'Ontario's Historical Plaques' website:
Lawren Harris 1885-1970
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