Harris Strong (American 1920-2006) Mid Century Modern Abstract Collage. Signed de Barde. Harris Strong was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1920.  His aunt owned a greeting card company, and that influenced him to become an artist.  He also had a strong scientific bent, so he was meticulous about the "engineering" of his tiles, which featured many innovations when competitors were creating "pie plates," in his own dismissive works.

During the war, he was a cryptographer, working directly under General Douglas MacArthur during World War II.  Afterward, he studied ceramics* and the chemistry of ceramic glazes at North Carolina State University.  Then he worked in Brooklyn, New York at Kelby Pottery. 

Later his own business really took off. He had showrooms in Chicago, New York and Tokyo… he created a 30' long free-standing ceramic tile mural for the Waldorf-Astoria in York City, which remains in place.  One friend says he was the first to ever show art at a home furnishings show.

He loved, and sang Gilbert & Sullivan, collected stamps, and played bridge.  In 1970, Strong relocated to Trenton, Maine, but after a fire destroyed his glazes developed over 20 years, he shifted his focus to prints, serigraphs*, woodcuts*, etchings*, engravings*, collage* and paintings. Strong died in 2006.

Size: 54 x 41 in. 

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