Foster 841-844

HARRIS, A.E. (1865-1951)

Painter of portraits and landscapes. Born in Birmingham, Harris studied at Cardiff School of Art, Hatherley’s School of Art and South Kensington College of Art. In 1890 he arrived in Bombay and worked for the photographic firm of Johnson and Hoffman. In 1897 he moved to Calcutta to set up his own portrait studio. During his thirty-seven year stay in India he made portraits in oils of many Indian princes and British administrators, he travelled widely in northern India and received many private commissions. Paintings by Harris were hung in a number of public buildings and colleges in Calcutta. Shortly before his return to England in 1927 he travelled to Tibet and made landscapes of the Himalayas. In London he continued to receive commissions for portraits. Amongst his sitters were Indian and Nepalese officials and dignitaries visiting London and editors of the ‘Daily Telegraph.’

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F841-844

Four portraits of Commandants of the Calcutta (Presidency) Battalion, formerly the Calcutta Volunteer Rifles.

30 by 25 ins (76 by 63.5 cms) each.

Deposited on permanent loan by the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia, 1984.

The Calcutta Battalion was raised in 1863 as the Calcutta Volunteer Rifle Corps and was one of the earliest auxiliary forces to be raised in India. The Battalion’s officers were generally retired regular army officers; they were later professional or business men within the community.