Jon Harris (born 1943) is an

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

, and

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

, who has a particular interest in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

. He lives in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, which he has made his base since he graduated from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, with a degree in Art History, in 1965. Cambridge is also the principal subject of his drawings. Harris is particularly known for his illustrated,

calligraphic Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

, maps.

Early life

Harris was born in 1943, in North Staffordshire; he had an itinerant, partly colonial youth. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

, where he was a scholar. He began in Architecture at Trinity Hall, Cambridge University in 1961, and finished in Art History.

Career

Harris published an article in ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'' in 1962 on Cambridge's 19th-century architect/developer

Richard Reynolds Rowe Richard Reynolds Rowe (5 June 1824 – 21 December 1899) was an English architect and civil engineer, mainly active in Cambridge and Cambridgeshire. His best-known work is the Cambridge Corn Exchange. Biography Richard Reynolds Rowe was born i ...

. He taught drawing for 25 years in the Cambridge Arts School (CCAT, now

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public research university in the region of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins date back to the Cambridge School of Art (CSA), founded by William John Beamont, a Fellow of Trinity College at the Unive ...

), and painted (topography and light) until this career came to end with a joint exhibition between the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities University museum, museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard ...

and the Cambridge University School of Architecture. A catalogue was published by the Fitzwilliam Museum. He wrote for eight years on the landscapes and settlements of the four East Anglia counties and explored them on foot. In 2003 he walked the shores and inland boundaries of the county of Essex with Brian Mooney. The report of the journey, with text by Mooney and illustrations by Harris, was published as ''Frontier Country'' (Thorogood 2004). Due to his knowledge of the architectural history of Cambridge, Harris often serves as a historical advisor on developments and refurbishments in Cambridge. He is a member of Cambridge City Council's Design & Conservation Panel, before which significant new developments are brought for appraisal. In 2007 he advised

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

on the colour scheme for the restoration of a range of medieval buildings in Magdalene Street, Cambridge. A collection of his work has been published by Cambridge-based publishing house

Lutterworth Press The Lutterworth Press, one of the oldest independent British publishing houses, has traded since the late eighteenth century, initially as the Religious Tract Society (RTS).

in September 2018; this is the first time a collection of his work has been published. The book, titled ''Artist About Cambridge'' is a biographical look at Harris' work and how the city of Cambridge has changed over the past few decades.

References

* ''Painter About Cambridge'', Fitzwilliam Museum, 1997 * ''Frontier Country'' (Brian Mooney, illustrated by Jon Harris), Thorogood, 2004 * ''Artist About Cambridge'', Lutterworth Press, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Jon British artists Living people 1943 births People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge