Lawren Harris

Aout 20 years ago, I was in Ottawa for a conference. While there, I thought I would take in some of the Ottawa sights. I went to the Parliament Buildings, went across into Hull to see the Museum of Civilization... and went to the National Art Gallery. Wandering through the halls of the art gallery, I politely glanced at the paintings there but wasn't all that moved by the old masters, by their dark and gloomy compositions. The Group of Seven paintings started to intrigue me a bit more with their vibrant colours and their depictions of Canadian life and landscape.

At one point, I came around a corner, moved forward into a larger room, turned around and stopped dead in my tracks. I was facing a free-standing wall on which hung a painting by Lawren Harris - I was stunned, mesmerized, awed, amazed, dumbfounded... A well-situated bench let me sit on it for a while, while I just gazed at this painting with an open mouth...

The painting is called "North Shore, Lake Superior" and has a depth of spirituality and worship that leaves me breathless and speechless...

I can't explain it... Well, I could try, but it wouldn't do this painting justice. I came back to Ottawa a few years ago and eagerly went to take another look at it... Breathless with anticipation, I rounded the corner and.... it was not there... It was in storage, rotated through for other paintings to be displayed... Perhaps someday I can revisit it... touch the mecca of it...