Albert Edward Harris

Albert Edward Harris (c.1870 – 1933) was a British engineer and artist whose evocative landscapes captured the beauty of Newfoundland.

Harris moved to Newfoundland in 1907, where he first worked with the Reid Group at their sulphate pulp mill in Bishop’s Falls, later becoming Managing Director of the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Co. in Grand Falls. Alongside his career in the lumber industry, Harris pursued his passion for art, creating works that reflected his deep appreciation of the local landscape.

In 1925, he co-founded The Newfoundland Society of Art, the colony’s first formal art organization, which played a pivotal role in fostering an artistic community through annual exhibitions and cultural exchange. After the Society dissolved in 1937, it was succeeded by the St. John’s Art Students Club.

In 1929, Harris settled at Brigus in a home he renamed Kent Cottage—previously rented by American artist Rockwell Kent during World War I. He lived there until his death in 1933. His remains were returned to England for burial.

Today, Harris’s works form part of the collection at The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, preserving his legacy as one of the region’s earliest champions of art.