About

Harry W. Tanner was born in the hospital of an American sugar mill in the eastern end of Cuba. His father was a Canadian banker posted on the island; his mother was from West Lafayette, Indiana. He completed his early education in different bilingual schools in Cuba, graduating from high school in Havana. He began his interest in painting when he was fifteen years old, taking water colour courses from a local artist. 

His higher education began at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. After a couple of years trying to develop an understanding of geology, he returned to Havana to work on maps as an oil and mine prospector. It was during this time that his interest in painting returned and he joined an art class under the tutelage of Palko Lukacs, a Hungarian painter who had studied under Oskar Kokoschka. He then received the amazing gift from his parents of an indefinite stay in Paris to study art. He spent over a year learning cubism at the atelier of André Lhote in Montparnasse, visiting museums and getting to know the masterpieces in the Louvre.

In March 1959, Harry participated in the creation of the Cuban Institute of Cinematic Art and Industry (ICAIC). He worked at ICAIC for the next eleven years. He had become interested in cinematography while in Paris and worked as a cameraman, cinematographer, and director of documentaries. He also worked as an assistant to Mikhail Kalatozov, the director of the Cuban/Russian film Soy Cuba. Harry joined the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and was an active promoter of the art of painting.

In 1984, Harry left Cuba for Toronto, Canada to assist his mother who was living there alone, and settled in Toronto. Harry continued painting and gave classes in ancient techniques at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO).

Harry produced over 200 paintings and exhibited several times in different venues. Through his work, he continued to explore the technique of the Baroque.