Bess Larkin Housser Harris (1890–1969) was a Canadian painter who participated in

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an Intergovernmentalism, intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non- ...

exhibitions and was a member of the

Canadian Group of Painters The Canadian Group of Painters (CGP) was a collective of 28 painters from across Canada who came together as a group in 1933. Its Archives is in Queen's University, Kingston. Formation The Canadian Group of Painters succeeded the disbanded Grou ...

Biography

Bess Larkin was born in

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

. She attended

Havergal College Havergal College is a private day and boarding school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was established in 1894 and named for Frances Ridley Havergal, a composer, author and humanitarian. The ...

in Toronto, Ontario. Bess married F. B. Housser in 1914. The two eventually divorced when Bess discovered Housser's affair with the artist Yvonne McKague, and in 1934 Bess married

Lawren Harris Lawren Stewart Harris LL. D. (October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970) was a Canadian painter, best known as one of the founding members of the Group of Seven. He played a key role as a catalyst in Canadian art, as a visionary in Canadian landsc ...

. After her marriage to Lawren Harris the two spent time in the United States. In 1940 they moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. Harris did not have a formal art education, but she did take painting lessons from

Frederick Varley Frederick Horsman Varley (January 2, 1881 – September 8, 1969) was a member of the Canadian Group of Seven. Career Early life Varley was born in Sheffield, England, in 1881, the son of Lucy (Barstow) and Samuel James Smith Varley the 7th. He ...

. Throughout the 1920s she participated, when invited, to

shows. In 1926, Harris participated in the Wembley show in England, and in 1930 her work was shown at the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art is a former art museum in Washington, D.C., that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Founded in 1869 by philanthropist William Wilson Corco ...

in Washington, DC. She was a member of the

. Harris contributed articles about art to the '' Canadian Bookman'' between 1923 and 1926. Harris died in 1969 in Vancouver.

Record sale prices

At the Heffel Auction, Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art, Nov. 2024, LOT 113, ''Near Moraine Lake'', oil on canvas, 44 x 54 3/4 in, 111.8 x 139.1 cm, Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000 CAD, Sold for: $133,250 (including Buyer's Premium).

References

External links

Bess Larkin Housser Harris images
on Invaluable
Bess Larkin Housser Harris images
on AskArt {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Bess Larkin Housser 1890 births 1969 deaths 20th-century Canadian women artists 20th-century Canadian artists Canadian women painters