Harris, Frederick, 1932-

A painter, author, art professor, and collector of art, Frederick Harris (FH) was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1932. He attended an art high school in New York. From 1952 to 1953, FH served in the army in the Korean War. After fighting ceased, he was transferred to a base in Japan. There he met his wife Kazuko (KH) and married her in 1954. They returned to the United States, and initially lived in Indianapolis, Indiana where FH studied at the Herron Art Institute. He was then accepted to the Art Center College in Los Angeles where he earned his degree. The Art Center College asked him to remain as part of the faculty. In 1963, FH was working for a Los Angeles architecture firm that sent him to Japan to open an office. FH and KH moved to Japan permanently at that time. In the late 1960s, FH left the architecture firm to open his own interior design firm in Tokyo called The Design Studio.

While working as the president of the design firm, he continued painting. He had begun with oils and other opaque media, but felt he could not appropriately capture the Japan countryside with these paints, and switched to watercolor. Around 1977, a friend suggested he try sumi, a black Japanese ink. Sumi-e means "ink picture." Since that time, FH used both watercolors and sumi. FH has stated that the way he uses sumi is different from the traditional way of painting with it. One of the main differences is the use of shadows. FH traveled extensively for both work and pleasure, and artworks created by him and collected by him reflect this. He collected works from Japan, China, and Việt Nam, among other places.

FH had a solid reputation as an artist in Japan. He regularly exhibited in Japan and received awards for his work. The U.S. Navy appointed him an official artist. During this time, he produced drawings and paintings of scenes on ships at sea and in port that were given to the U.S. Navy for display in living quarters, offices, and in the submarine museum in Hawaii. FH wrote art columns for several Tokyo publications. In 1981, he was selected as the director of the Modern Sumi-e Painters Association. He also taught a watercolor class at the Tokyo American Club.

FH wrote several books about his work including My Journey with Sumie Art and Travels with a Brush. Several paintings and sketches in this collection appear in these books along with works of his not in this collection.

FH's relationship with Ohio University (OU) began in 1994 when his friend and OU alumnus Robert Fallon (RF) suggested OU as the recipient of FH's collection of books. FH and KH donated thousands of books, many of them rare or out-of-print Asian art books. In 1996, FH came to OU to teach Japanese art in the School of Art. At that time, he also had an exhibit of his work at OU's Trisolini Gallery. In 1997, FH served on the Board of Directors for the Kennedy Museum, and OU granted him and Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts. Besides art books, FH and KH made several donations to the Ohio University Libraries, including a collection of Yao ceremonial artifacts. The final bequest, The Frederick and Kazuko Harris Library Collection, was received after FH's death in 2010.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Harris, Frederick, My Journey with Sumie Art. Japan: Shuyusaku-sha, 2000. Harris, Frederick, Travels with a Brush. Japan: The Japan Times, 2003. Hines, Diane Casella, "Fred Harris: A Gaijin Paints Suiboku," American Artist, March 1982: 52-57, 80-81. Ikeda, Akira, "A designer's fine art of success," Mainichi Daily News, September 23, 1997. "Visiting Artist Fred Harris Teaches Japanese Painting Techniques, Delivers Public Lectures." Ohio University News Service press release. Athens, OH, September 17, 1996. Yoneyama, Shiro, "'Sumi-e' artist blends, East, West," The Japan Times, October 2, 1997.

From the guide to the Frederick and Kazuko Harris Library Collection, circa 2000 BCE-2010 CE, (Ohio University)