ABOUT TONY HARRIS

For more than 20 years Canadian professional sports artist Tony Harris has been creating paintings that capture the scenic beauty of golf. A four-handicap, Harris brings a player’s perspective to the canvas. Every Harris painting is an invitation to step inside the frame.

Harris has visited, played and painted major courses throughout Canada, the United States and Great Britain. His passion for the game has generated a body of work which depicts Golf’s most iconic holes with a painstaking attention to detail. His paintings are both faithful and familiar, authentic and aesthetic.

“My paintings are really landscapes, and you don’t have to be a devout fan of golf to enjoy a landscape. However, if you are a golf fan; then there’s something in every painting you’ll recognize as true to the game.”

While it has inspired the bulk of his work, Golf is not the only sport Harris has focused his athlete’s eye on. The one time OHL goalie (Kingston Canadians) and former All-Canadian quarterback (Bishop’s University) brings the same perception to hockey and football. Tony Harris originals hang in the homes of professional football and hockey players all over North America. His commissions include: the PGA, LPGA, CFL and most recently the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

Born in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada, Harris attended Lakefield College School, where his father was a teacher. A standout in both hockey and football in high school he chose to pursue hockey. Following a brief career with the Major Junior “A” Kingston Canadians he enrolled in Bishop’s University where he resumed his football career and studied art. While there he was named All-Canadian twice and nominated for the Hec Crighton award (Canadian University Football’s Most Outstanding Player). After earning his BA in Art and his Bachelor of Education, Harris became a high school teacher. He taught art and coached football, first at Lakefield College School then at Lower Canada College in Montreal.

In 1993 Harris resigned from teaching vowing to give himself two years to see if he could survive as a professional artist. He has never looked back. Harris, his wife Lianne Laing and their daughter Andie live in Ottawa.