Canadian artist Edward Hardy Harrison was born August 1926 in the village of Wingate, in County Durham, England. In 1943, Harrison enrolled in Hartlepool College of Art and began to study art and design. However, WWII put a stop to his education. Following his military service, Harrison returned to art school and received a diploma in Design in 1950. In 1951, Harrison received a teaching certificate from the University of Durham and began a twenty-eight year career in education. He went on to teach in many parts of the world including Malaysia and New Zealand, before immigrating to Canada with his wife and son. They settled in the small town of Carcross, just outside Whitehorse, in Yukon. He established the first Fine Arts course in Yukon and taught at the Yukon Vocational and Technical Training Centre.
In 1970, Harrison held his first major exhibition in Canada at the Robertson Galleries, in Ottawa. After 1979, Harrison began to work as a full time artist. In 1987, he received the Order of Canada for his contribution to Canadian culture. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Athabasca in 1991, an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from the University of Victoria in 1998 and a distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Alberta in 2002. In 1993, he moved to Victoria, British Columbia, where he lived the remainder of his life.
Harrison has won international recognition for his paintings as well as for his children’s stories and illustration, notably The Last Horizon, 1980 and The Cremation of Sam McGee, 1986). Other projects include his designs for the Yukon Pavilion for the Vancouver Expo ‘86 and the Canada Post Christmas Stamp in 1996.
The artist attributed his early interest in art and design to the encouragement of his parents, in particular, that of his mother, who had an interest in fashion design and photography. In the late 1960’s, Harrison’s work underwent a dramatic transformation. He simplified his forms to childlike and introduced sweeping rhythms and lush colours. His trademark paintings often depict faceless people, with an odd dog or raven, standing in front of sunken houses. The backdrop is always composed of colourful lakes, brilliant skies and mountains that seem to blend into one another. Harrison is distinguished for his harmonious combinations of colour and rhythm.
