Lawren Harris

(Canadian, 1885–1970)

Lawren Harris was a Canadian painter born into a wealthy family on October 23, 1885, in Brantford, Ontario. After studying at St Andrew’s College, Toronto, he attended the University of Toronto where he was persuaded by his mathematics professor to study art in Berlin. He left aged 19 in 1904 and spent four years there before returning to Canada in 1908 to pursue painting full time.

Harris began to develop his unique style, which included bold colors and simplified shapes that conveyed a sense of spirituality and harmony with nature. In 1920, he co-founded the Group of Seven, which aimed to create a distinctly Canadian art style. Their work focused on the landscapes of Canada's vast wilderness, capturing the rugged beauty of the country's forests, lakes, and mountains.

Harris's painting Mountain Forms was created in 1926 and is now considered a Canadian art icon. In 2016, the painting sold for a record-breaking $8,320,344 at auction.

Throughout his career, Harris continued to innovate and push the boundaries of traditional painting. He was interested in Theosopy and experimented with abstract and geometric forms, which he called ‘abstract reality’, producing many works with a spiritual and metaphysical theme. Lawren Harris died in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1970 at the age of 85.