Robert Harris was born in Wales in 1849 to Critchlow and Sarah (Stretch) Harris. In 1856 the Harris family emigrated to Prince Edward Island. At age fourteen Robert completed his studies at Prince of Wales College and began work in the office of Henry Cundall, surveyor.

Determined to study art, Harris made his first trip to England in 1867. He would eventually study in Boston, London and Paris. It was in Canada that he chose to work, first in Toronto, later Montreal; becoming the country's foremost portrait painter. His most famous painting, commissioned by the Government of Canada, was the group portrait of the Fathers of Confederation. In 1916 it was destroyed in a fire which struck the Parliament Buildings. Recognition brought involvement in arts organizations; Harris was a member of the Ontario Society of Artists, a founding member of the Royal Canadian Academy (which he also served as president) and a founding member of Montreal's Pen and Pencil Club. Robert Harris died in Montreal in 1919.