Few living artists have done more to shape the visual language of science fiction than John Harris. For more than fifty years, the British painter has created images that evoke wonder, scale, and the sublime, transporting viewers to distant worlds, colossal starships and landscapes that seem to exist somewhere between dream and reality. Now, collectors have an opportunity to acquire examples of Harris's work as paintings by the artist come to auction at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood. Nearly twenty lots of his landscapes and beautiful scenes - with Harris's trademark treatment of colour and his appreciation of scale - are on offer at the June 9th Antiquarian Books, Manuscripts and Prints Auction.
Lot 507 - John Harris (British, b 1948) - Artwork for 'Cry Wolf' by Wilbur Smith (author) - Acrylic on board - 43 x 30cm - Signed and dated 1991 lower right.
Born in London in 1948, Harris studied at Exeter College of Art before embarking on a career that would make him one of the defining visual voices of science fiction. While many artists working in the genre focused on technical precision, Harris developed a style that was unmistakably painterly. His vast spacecraft emerge from mist and atmosphere, dwarfing mountains and cities, glowing horizons suggest both discovery and isolation, and distant structures appear suspended between engineering and mythology.
Harris's paintings have appeared on book covers for some of science fiction's most celebrated authors, including Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl, Ben Bova, Jack Vance, John Scalzi and Orson Scott Card. Many readers first encountered his imagery without knowing the artist's name, yet the experience was unforgettable; landscapes that hinted at stories far beyond the page.
John Harris (British, b 1948) - Artwork for 'A Frozen Lake' by Elizabeth Edmondson (author) - Oil on canvas on board - 30 x 51cm - Signed lower left - John Harris (British, b 1948) - Artwork for 'Cheerfulness Breaks In' by Angela Thirkell (author) - Oil on canvas on board - 40 x 27.5cm - John Harris (British, b 1948) - Artwork for 'Whispers' by Pam Rhodes (author) - Oil on canvas on board - 32 x 49.5cm - Signed and dated '99 left. (3)
One of the defining characteristics of Harris's work is his treatment of scale. Rather than filling a composition with action, he often places a monumental object within a vast environment, allowing viewers to appreciate its enormity through contrast. Tiny figures, distant horizons, or mountain ranges become measuring tools against which impossibly large structures are revealed. The result is a sense of awe that echoes the themes explored by the great science-fiction writers whose books his paintings adorned.
His reputation extends far beyond publishing. During the 1980s Harris produced imagery for Sinclair Research's pioneering home-computer range, while later commissions included work connected with NASA and major commercial clients. A painting inspired by the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour was acquired for the Smithsonian collection, demonstrating the crossover appeal of his vision between art, science, and technology.
John Harris (British, b 1948) - Artwork for 'Wilbur Smith boxed set 2' by Wilbur Smith (author) - Acrylic on board - 43 x 29.5cm - Signed and dated 1992 lower right.
Although best known for science-fiction imagery, Harris's artistic interests have continually evolved. In recent decades he has explored atmospheric aerial landscapes and more abstract interpretations of light and space. Yet even in these works, the qualities that made him famous remain immediately recognisable; luminous colour, sweeping perspective and an ability to suggest worlds beyond ordinary experience.
Harris's is paintings occupy a unique position, appealing both to traditional art buyers and to enthusiasts of science fiction, fantasy and space exploration. Original works rarely appear on the open market, making auction opportunities particularly significant. The forthcoming Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood sale therefore represents more than a routine auction appearance. It offers collectors a chance to acquire works by an artist whose images helped define the visual imagination of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Harris's paintings are not merely illustrations; they are meditations on scale, possibility and humanity's enduring fascination with the unknown.
John Harris (British, b 1948) - Artwork for 'The Lost Daughter' by Joanna Hines (author) - Oil on canvas on board - 45 x 29.5cm - Unsigned - John Harris (British, b 1948) - Artwork for 'The Puritan's Wife' by Joanna Hines (author) - Oil on canvas on board - 52 x 35cm - Unsigned - John Harris (British, b 1948) - Artwork for 'Autumn of Strangers' by Joanna Hines (author) - Oil on canvas on board - 41 x 26.5cm - Unsigned. (3)
In an era increasingly dominated by digital imagery, John Harris remains a painter in the truest sense of the word. His canvases remind us that the most compelling visions of the future are often created not through technology, but through imagination. Decades after he first began painting impossible worlds, his work continues to inspire the same sense of wonder that has always been at the heart of science fiction.
The Antiquarian Books, Prints & Manuscripts Auction takes place on Tuesday 9th June, at 10.00. Bid online, in person, or leave telephone or commission bids, by visiting www.bhandl.co.uk, calling us on 01392 413100, or emailing enquiries@bhandl.co.uk
