This is an abstraction, exuberant with color and movement, by the Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris, best known for his muted, snowy, northern Canadian landscapes.
Anyone who saw the Idea of the North exhibition in 2015, the one curated for Los Angeles and Toronto by the art loving superstar comedian Steve Martin, will recognize the traditional focus on Harris’s wilderness works. (Examples above).
But Harris, heir to the Massey-Harris agricultural machinery fortune, had the wherewithal to discover new ideas, such as Abstract Expressionism. He was perpetually in tune with the evolution of modern art and explored these themes enthusiastically especially in his later years. Ritual Dance in Spring, the colorful painting at the top of this post, was done sometime in the 1960s when he was in his 70s. It’s worth knowing a bit about this less familiar side of the famous artist.
Heffel Auction House, where the painting is on offer, here.
Discover more from Canadian Art Junkie
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
2 thoughts on “Lawren Harris – His Lesser Known Side”