John Cyril Harrison

BORN 1898-1985

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The jjcountrylifeart website will endeavour to maintain a good selection of John Cyril Harrison (also known as J.C.Harrison) pictures as we constantly look to purchase his work. ( The following biography was originally written by jjcountrylifeart.  However several other online galleries have chosen to copy it).

As a young boy John Cyril Harrison showed an outstanding gift for drawing and his later sketch books reveal a rare talent for accurate observation and draughtsmanship. In fact Ron Digby, a highly respected contemporary bird artist, said that he considered John Cyril Harrison to be the finest draughtsman of all the British bird painters, both past and present.

J.C.Harrison studied at the Slade School of Art and improved his knowledge of anatomy through the practice of taxidermy.  After that he moved to Norfolk where he became a keen supporter of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.  Although most of his pictures depict the Norfolk countryside with its birds, he was a frequent visitor to Scotland where he spent time studying, sketching and painting Golden Eagles, Ptarmigan and Capercaille.  He also lived for a short while in Africa and enjoyed a limited time painting the wildlife there.

J.C.Harrison was one of the most popular artists at the major sporting galleries and in particular, The Tryon Gallery, where his exhibitions were eagerly awaited. Many of his paintings were so sought after, that collectors had to place their names in a hat, in order to compete for the pictures they wanted.

John Cyril Harrison also had a peerless reputation for painting birds in flight, indeed it was Aylmer Tryon himself who remarked that he thought that John Cyril Harrison’s birds in flight, surpassed even those of Archibald Thorburn. His drawings were remarkably accurate and he was blessed with a wonderfully fluent style which gave him the ability to combine realism with a hint of impressionism. That rare combination gave life and movement to his subjects and is the reason why many bird art enthusiasts rate his finest work as second to none.  He is also well known for his wonderful skyscapes, full of moody atmosphere and in my opinion unequalled amongst British bird artists.

Harrison was prolific, but if he had a weakness, it was the fact that not all of his paintings were first rate examples.  I would place his pictures into four categories.  Poor, average, good and premier.  Although art is subjective, I believe there are many collectors who don’t always discriminate between these four categories.  When his poor or average pictures come onto the market, especially those which are not in good condition, it can cause his prices to drop and this reduces his average.  By contrast if we consider his premier pictures, then we don’t need to look any further than the Andrewartha sale at Bonhams 2012.  This sale produced several world records for his works, many with five figure sums and included a top price of around £33,650.  Harrison’s pictures also enjoyed great success at the Christie’s Astor sale 2017.  J.C.Harrison has illustrated several books and continues to have a very strong following.