Harry Frier

Harry Frier (1849–1921) was a prolific British watercolour painter best known for recording Somerset life and streetscapes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Born in Edinburgh (the son of painter Robert Frier), he trained in Scotland, passing entrance exams to the Edinburgh School of Art in 1867.

In 1883 he moved to Somerset with his Somerset-born wife, Kate Dyer, and worked largely around Taunton,producing detailed local views and landmarks across the county (including coastal scenes such as Minehead). He earned his living mainly through commissions.

As photography became more common in the early 1900s, demand for his work declined. After Kate died in 1913, Frier’s health worsened; he entered Taunton Workhouse in 1917 and died there in 1921, later buried at Creech St Michael