Sebastian Harrison
Encyclopedia
Sebastian Harrison was a French
art déco
architect
, and artist
, dividing his time between city planning and painting pictures, both centering on the art déco
style. Throughout his career he worked in the shadows of other canonised
artists, focusing his attention on perfecting his style. He is little known for his artistry, however according to a 1986 book he had a great deal of influence over what was to signify art déco
.
before eventually getting a similar job in Paris
, which would enable him to establish himself as artist. For it was in Paris that he at the world's fair in 1900
would establish himself as on of the Société des artistes décorateurs. Although a wide array of other names are quoted as influential, he is rarely mentioned. This is believed to be the result of a chosen life-style, in that he did not want fame or success, but only to work in peace and quiet. Even though he is not as well known as other art déco
celebrities, he is said to have been highly influential within the Société des artistes décorateurs and a source of inspiration of the likes of Paul Follot and Hector Guimard
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
art déco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, dividing his time between city planning and painting pictures, both centering on the art déco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style. Throughout his career he worked in the shadows of other canonised
Western canon
The term Western canon denotes a canon of books and, more broadly, music and art that have been the most important and influential in shaping Western culture. As such, it includes the "greatest works of artistic merit." Such a canon is important to the theory of educational perennialism and the...
artists, focusing his attention on perfecting his style. He is little known for his artistry, however according to a 1986 book he had a great deal of influence over what was to signify art déco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
.
Career
During the 1880s and early 1890s, Harrison worked in a city-planner-like position in NiceNice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
before eventually getting a similar job in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, which would enable him to establish himself as artist. For it was in Paris that he at the world's fair in 1900
Exposition Universelle (1900)
The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...
would establish himself as on of the Société des artistes décorateurs. Although a wide array of other names are quoted as influential, he is rarely mentioned. This is believed to be the result of a chosen life-style, in that he did not want fame or success, but only to work in peace and quiet. Even though he is not as well known as other art déco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
celebrities, he is said to have been highly influential within the Société des artistes décorateurs and a source of inspiration of the likes of Paul Follot and Hector Guimard
Hector Guimard
Hector Guimard was an architect, who is now the best-known representative of the French Art Nouveau style of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries....
Personal life
Little is known about the personal life of Sebastian Harrison, although it is believed that he was of Irish descent, which would explain the last name not being French, brought up through poor conditions. He was married to Marie Harrison and had two sons, Nicolas and Cassius.Sources
- Cabanne, Pierre, Encyclopédie Art déco, Somogy, Paris, 1986.
- Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes, Encyclopédie des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes au XXème siècle, 2, Architecture, 1977 [1925].