Lawren Harris 1885-1970
Photo by Alan L Brown - July 17, 2004
Text from the plaque
Born into a prominent Brantford family, Lawren Harris began to paint as a child. At the University of Toronto, a professor noted he sketched during lectures and advised he be sent to Europe to study art. While in Germany (1904-1907), Harris was influenced by urban realism, landscape regionalism, and theosophy, a transcendental, mystical school of thought. In 1920, he helped found the Group of Seven, an association of landscape artists dedicated to creating a distinctly Canadian form of art. Harris saw a spiritual presence in natural forms and painted in an increasingly stylized manner until, in the 1930s, he became an abstract artist. Harris landscapes such as "North Shore, Lake Superior," and "Icebergs, Davis Strait" remain celebrated Canadian images.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The City of Brantford
In front of the Art Gallery, on the west side of Ava Road north of Brant Avenue.