Robert Harris (painter)
Robert Harris | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | February 27, 1919 | (aged 69)
Nationality | Canadian |
Known for | Painter |
Spouse | Elizabeth Putnam (married 1885) |
Robert Harris
Early life
Born in
In 1880, he was commissioned to sketch the principal parties in the Donnelleys' murder trial for the Toronto Globe.[1] He returned to study in Paris with Bonnat again in 1881. In 1882, he shared a studio with American painter A. B. Reinhardt at Ecouen, 17 miles from Paris.[1] In 1883, he exhibited at the Paris Salon.[2] While abroad, he may have learned of Impressionism.
On his return to Canada, in 1883, he was commissioned by the Dominion Government to paint a record of the
Career
In 1886, his painting of A Meeting of the School Trustees, of a woman teacher in P.E.I. named Kate Henderson converting a gathering of male trustees to her point of view, was the sensation of the 1886 Royal Canadian Academy of Arts show. The Fathers of Confederation, early in his career, established his reputation as one of the most distinguished portrait painters in Canada. Between 1889 and 1896, he painted over 55 commissioned portraits superior to other portraits being done at the time.[1] In 1903, he painted his portrait of the Countess of Minto. In the late '00s, Harris turned to painting in an Impressionist-influenced mode after purchasing the first book in English on the subject, The French Impressionists (1860–1900) by Camille Mauclair. (His copy of the book is in the Confederation Centre Art Gallery).[3] Over the next eight years, he began to incorporate small touches of vibrant colour and the fluid brushwork of the Impressionists, while still maintaining the formal characteristics of academic portraiture.[4]
Harris taught at the
His painting A Meeting of the School Trustees appeared on a Canadian stamp in 1980 and was dramatized by television on
Selected works
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John A. Macdonald
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Conference at Québec in 1864, to settle the basics of a union of the British North American Provinces, also known as The Fathers of Confederation. The original painting was destroyed when the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings was consumed by fire in 1916.
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A Meeting of the School Trustees 1885, National Gallery of Canada
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Countess of Minto
Honours
He was a founding member of the
Personal life
He married Elizabeth (Bessie) Putnam in 1885 but the couple had no children. He was the brother of the architect William Critchlow Harris and took an active interest in the artwork of his cousin Kathleen Morris.[9]
References
- ^ a b c d e Williamson 1967, p. n.p..
- ^ Prakash 2015, pp. 643–647.
- ^ Mauclair, Camille (1903). The French Impressionists (1860–1900). Duckworth.
- ^ Prakash 2015, p. 643.
- ^ "Five Decades: Canadian Art Collection, 2014". confederationcentre.com. Confederation Centre. July 6, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ISBN 9780665132964.
- ISBN 0070925046. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
- ISBN 9780771090103. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ Barbara Meadowcroft, Painting Friends: The Beaver Hall Women Painters, 1999
Bibliography
- Bruce, Tobi; Cable, Patrick Shaw (2011). The French Connection. Hamilton, Ontario: Art Gallery of Hamilton. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- Boyanoski, Christine (2015). "Figures in the Landscape en plein air". Embracing Canada: Landscapes from Krieghoff to the Group of Seven. Ian M. Thom (ed.). Vancouver and London, Eng.: Vancouver Art Gallery and Black Dog Publishing. pp. 59ff. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- Foss, Brian (1991). Robert Harris: The Politics of Portraiture/Robert Harris et le sens politique du portrait. St Lambert, PQ: Musée Marsil. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
- Prakash, A.K. (2015). Impressionism in Canada: A Journey of Rediscovery. Stuttgart: Arnoldsche Art Publishers. pp. 398–417. ISBN 978-3-89790-427-9.
- Moncrieff Williamson, Robert Harris: An Unconventional Biography, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1973.
- Williamson, Moncrieff (1967). Robert Harris 1849-1919. Charlottetown: Confederation Art Gallery. Retrieved September 30, 2020.