Sam Hyde Harris

Sam Hyde Harris (1889-1977)

Sam Hyde Harris was born in Brentford, Middlesex, England on Feb 2 1889. He immigrated to the US with his family in 1904 and settled in Los Angeles, As a teenager he attended eveniing classes at the local Artists’ Student League and Cannon Art School under Hanson Puthuff, Will Foster, Lawrence Murphy, F. Tolles Chamberlin and Stanton MacDonald-Wright. He worked in commercial art throughout his caree rand taught at Chouinard Art School for many years. In 1950 Harris bought Jack Wilkinson Smith’s old studio in Alhambra and lived there for the rest of his life. The harbor at San Pedro was one of his favorite painting spots. His early paintings (1920-40) show the influence of his teacher and sketching partner Hanson Puthuff and are bathed in light and atmospheric effects. His late paintings are mostly desert scenes done on sketching trips with Swinnerton and are bolder, with a palette of reds, yellows, and greens. Harris won over 100 awards in Southern California exhibitions from 1936 until his death on May 30, 1977. His works are held at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum, and the Irvine Museum.