Edward Hardy "Ted" Harrison

British-born Ted Harrison is one of Canada’s most recognizable and popular artists. He settled in the Yukon at age 41 in 1967 after living and teaching art to children in New Zealand and Japan. When not teaching, Harrison spent a lot of time in his cabin on Crag Lake, in which he found solitude and inspiration for his paintings. He developed an iconic, recognizable and distinctly unique style, capturing Yukon’s beauty and colours with characteristic bright saturated tones, undulating lines, and sweeping skies with simplified, almost childlike forms–evoking Mauri shapes and Japanese prints. His colourful lakes, brilliant skies and mountains seem to blend into one another–many of his trademark paintings integrate faceless people with the oddly appearing dog or raven, standing in front of sunken houses.

Harrison has painted thousands of pieces inspired by the people and landscapes of the Canadian North and continued to paint in Victoria, BC until his death. He is an internationally recognized illustrator of children’s books, as well as a Member of the Order of Canada and has been awarded numerous honorary doctorates.

The best of his work is inspired by the people and landscapes of the Canadian North. Although originally from the United Kingdom, from 1968 through 1993, Ted Harrison lived in the Yukon painting its beauty. In a tribute published on CBC’s website upon Harrison’s passing in Victoria on January 16, 2015, Katherine Gibson, author of the biography Ted Harrison: Painting Paradise, 2009 said that Ted Harrison had immortalized northern Canadian art. "During that time (1968- 1993) he discovered the Yukon Northern Lights and it was the wonderful people and community that he fell in love with... And of course the beautiful flashing lights of the Yukon informed the art that we love so much today."