Edward Hardy Harrison LL.D. (August 28, 1926 – January 16, 2015) was an English-Canadian artist who created many paintings of the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

Early life and education

Ted Harrison was born in

Wingate, County Durham Wingate is a village in County Durham, England. Wingate is a former pit village with a mixture of 19th-century, post-war, and more recent housing developments. It was originally inhabited by around 30 farmers before 1839 when coal was discovere ...

, England, in 1926. He started to paint at the West Hartlepool School of Art in England. Although interrupted by war, Harrison went on to complete his studies, being awarded a National Diploma in Design from the College in 1949. His subsequent earning of a teaching certificate from the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

and a B.Ed from the University of Alberta, led to a teaching career that lasted almost three decades.

Career

Beginning in 1968, Harrison resided in Yukon, Canada, a location with prominence in many of his works. He stayed there until 1993. His work from this period focused on the colours and culture of the Yukon. He worked, from the 1970s and thus in his post-academic capacity, not only as an artist but also as an illustrator and author. His work in the field earned him a national first: selection for the International Children’s book Exhibition in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Italy. One of his illustrations is of the Robert Service poem "

The Cremation of Sam McGee "The Cremation of Sam McGee" is among the most famous of Robert W. Service's poems. It was published in 1907 in ''Songs of a Sourdough''. (A "sourdough", in this sense, is a resident of the Yukon.) It concerns the cremation of a prospector who fr ...

". He often tried unexpected colours to depicted features. In 1987, Harrison was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

for his contributions to Canadian culture. He also held honorary doctorates from

Athabasca University Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first Canadian ...

(1991), the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

(1998) and the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

(2005). He was made a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

Personal life

Harrison's wife, Nicky, died from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

in 2000. Harrison subsequently helped raise money for Alzheimer foundations. Harrison died in his sleep at the age of 88 on January 16, 2015.

Personal archive

In 2011, Harrison donated his personal archive to the

's Library.

References

External links