| Author =
Katherine Gibson=20
and artist Ted Harrison. Photo courtesy=20
http://www.tedharrisonbiography.ca
Ted Harrison is one of Canada=E2=80=99s greatest =
and yet most=20
unappreciated artists who has been, in the words of=20
Edmonton-raised biographer Katherine Gibson, =
=E2=80=9Cloved and=20
snubbed.=E2=80=9D Today the public adores =
Harrison=E2=80=99s work, his shows=20
sell out and, at 83, he=E2=80=99s internationally =
lauded.=20
His vivid, colourful works are in major collections =
around=20
the world, he=E2=80=99s been presented with the Order =
of Canada and=20
Order of B.C. and has received four honourary =
doctorate=20
degrees. But there is not a single painting by him in =
the=20
National Gallery of Canada.=20
Gibson spent four years working on her =
comprehensive=20
biography of Harrison, Painting Paradise, which was =
released=20
in September. The evening of December 9th, the subject =
and the=20
biographer will be at Greenwoods=E2=80=99 Bookshoppe =
at 7925 104th=20
Street for a book signing.=20
=E2=80=9CI had often wondered about the man behind =
the cheerful=20
pictures,=E2=80=9D Gibson writes in the book=E2=80=99s =
preface. =E2=80=9CWhat, or who,=20
inspired those vibrant colours and the playful, =
optimistic=20
style? What determined Harrison's carefree, poetic =
prose? What=20
were the influences, experiences, and people that =
shaped him?=E2=80=9D
Beyond that, she wrote the biography because she =
wanted to=20
honour his exceptional contribution to Canadian =
culture. =E2=80=9CI=20
wanted to tell the story of a man who liked to =
paint,=E2=80=9D she=20
says simply. The end result is a fascinating and =
inspiring=20
chronicle of a man who came from humble beginnings to =
achieve=20
greatness.=20
=E2=80=9CTed claims he is as ordinary as bacon and =
eggs,=E2=80=9D Gibson=20
observes. Yet when she started researching his life, =
she found=20
letters to him from dozens of well-known people, =
including=20
former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who sent him a=20
hand-written note in 1991.=20
=E2=80=9CIndeed, I'm happy because of your =
paintings,=E2=80=9D Reagan=20
wrote. Two years later, the former president would =
officially=20
announce that he had Alzheimer's disease.=20
Harrison=E2=80=99s work is renowned for its whimsy, =
spontaneity,=20
innocence, and fun. =E2=80=9CHis paintings are =
cheerful reflections of=20
his own seemingly limitless optimism and good humour," =
wrote=20
Nick Tuele in 1996 when he was director of the =
Victoria Art=20
Gallery. "One finds in his painting what is obvious in =
his=20
philosophy, a humanity in harmony with the =
environment.=E2=80=9D
That vision was in stark contrast to his early =
life, which=20
was lived in some of the darkest conditions =
imaginable. =E2=80=9CTed's=20
life was filled with serendipity," Gibson observes. He =
was the=20
son of a County Durham coalminer in Wingate, in =
northeast=20
England, and was likely destined for life deep =
underground,=20
but he had a teacher who saw that =E2=80=9Cthis coal =
miner=E2=80=99s kid had=20
something special." |
Harrison was schooled in art and design, and served =
in=20
India and East Africa during the Second World War. =
Then he=20
began to teach, and spent time in Malaysia and New =
Zealand=20
before he and his wife Nicky and son Charles came to =
Canada in=20
1967. He arrived in Edmonton that year, and taught at =
St.=20
Teresa School in Wabasca for a year before taking a =
position=20
teaching at Carcross, in the Yukon Territory.=20
That=E2=80=99s where he lived for 25 years and =
truly found his=20
muse, creating works that are so exceptional, they are =
breathtaking. In the words of Yukoner Joyce Hayden: =
=E2=80=9CYou have=20
distilled the essence of the Yukon and poured it onto =
canvas.=20
Whenever I wear my parka, I feel as though I am =
walking into=20
one of your paintings. How is it that you have =
understood us=20
so clearly and with such good humour?=E2=80=9D
Harrison returned to the University of Alberta each =
summer=20
for nine years to complete his education degree in =
1977. He=20
has since received from the U of A an honourary =
doctorate and=20
was also awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award.
The serendipity that has followed Harrison all his =
life=20
also extended to the book project, Gibson says. When =
word=20
started to spread about the biography, key individuals =
from=20
his life began to contact her, offering up their =
memories and=20
material from the past.=20
Piece-by-piece, interview-by-interview, and =
layer-by-layer,=20
she painstakingly assembled the portrait. The =
discovery of=20
more boxes of documents and memorabilia in =
Harrison=E2=80=99s Victoria=20
home in July 2008 only added to the bounty, and the =
project=20
took longer than first anticipated.=20
=E2=80=9CTed Harrison made up his mind he wanted me =
to write this,=20
and he didn=E2=80=99t hold anything back,=E2=80=9D =
Gibson says. =E2=80=9CI wanted to=20
tell an honest story. In the end, I found that I liked =
him=20
very much. He is a gentle, positive, wonderful man who =
is=20
caring, self-effacing, genuine, and very grounded. He =
has a=20
brilliant vision of life that only he can see. And =
that=E2=80=99s what=20
he paints.=E2=80=9D=20
The book, with 260 pages of prose and 78 colour =
images=20
printed on archival paper, is getting rave reviews. =
=E2=80=9CFull of=20
humour, compassion and colourful detail, Katherine =
Gibson's=20
book is as bright and engaging as Ted Harrison's =
paintings,=E2=80=9D=20
is how author and filmmaker Monty Bassett puts it.=20
The book signing at Greenwoods=E2=80=99 Bookshoppe, =
7925 104=20
Street, is December 9 at 7 pm. The Royal Alberta =
Museum is=20
exhibiting 26 illustrations from A Northern Alphabet =
which=20
Harrison gave to the University and the children of =
Alberta.=20
|
![3D1697.jpg=20](3D"http://www.rewedmonton.ca/ARTICLE_PHOTOS/Content/1697.jpg"=20)