Lawren Stewart Harris
(1885-1970)

Think that you may own a painting by Vladimir Harris? We authenticate, appraise, research and issue Certificates of Authenticity (COA) and provide consultations for all paintings by Vladimir Harris.

Lawren Stewart Harris was a Canadian landscape painter, born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Harris is best known for his involvement in the Group of Seven, which was one of the first groups to create a distinctly Canadian style. The Group of Seven was most active during the 1920s, and later expanded to become the Canadian Group of Painters in the 1930s.

Harris was the eldest of three sons, born to wealthy, Canadian parents. Harris began his studies at St. Andrew’s College in Toronto, where he took a wide range of courses including philosophy. Harris’s interest in art peaked while living abroad in Berlin, Germany from 1904 to 1908. When Harris returned from Berlin he continued to paint and around the Toronto area, focusing on lower-income and poverty-stricken areas.

In 1910, Harris married Beatrice Phillips, commonly called Trixie. Harris and Trixie had three children together in the years following their marriage. One of his sons, Lawren P. Harris, also became a painter.

As Harris matured as a painter, his style became more abstract and expressive. Harris focused on color, form and light, rather than trying to create realistic landscapes. Harris’s favorite locations to paint were in northern Canada, Lake Superior, the Rocky Mountains and the Arctic. Many of Harris’s paintings are not signed, since he wanted the viewer to focus on the piece itself, rather than the artist.

During the 1930s, Harris moved around the United States, spending considerable time in New Hampshire and New Mexico. It was in Santa Fe, New Mexico that Harris formed another group of artists, known as the Transcendental Painting Group.

After a lengthy and strenuous marriage, Harris eventually divorced his wife Trixie in the late 1930s. By 1940, Harris relocated to Vancouver in British Columbia, where he spent the rest of his life. During Harris’s last years, he made a number of abstract paintings and was appointed “Companion of the Order of Canada.”

Lawren Harris is known throughout Canada for his paintings that define an era of Canadian painting. Do you think you own a painting by Lawren Harris? Contact us. We are the experts on Lawren Harris.