The artist wonderfully captures a portrait of an old person looking peaceful and content. Subtle lines are formed showing the wrinkles while the eyes light up as the person looks forward. Eyes are the window to the soul.
Peter Harris, dubbed the ‘White Tiger’, is best known for creating a semblance of art education as art superintendent of the Federation of Malaya from 1951 to December 1960. He later headed the Sabah Teachers Training College (Gaya College) in Sabah (1962-1967). He is best known for founding the Wednesday Art Group (WAG) in 1952. He was accorded a Retrospective by the National Art Gallery in 1960, and The Art Gallery (Penang) in 1997 besides a Memorial Tribute in Kuala Lumpur in 2009. He made a huge impact when invited back in 1996 for the WAG Then and Now reunion exhibition at GaleriWan, Kuala Lumpur. Peter Harris was awarded an MBE (Member, Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1963. His art education was at the West of England College of Art (1939), and he taught at the College Art School in Swindon (1947) and in the 1970s, the Sheldon School in Chippenham.