Sam Hyde Harris was a man of dichotomies. He was raised in a working-class family, yet was comfortable in the social arena. He was a leading commercial designer for the transportation industry, but did not know how to drive an automobile. In his commercial work Harris often used bold colours with dramatic contrasts, however, his finest landscape paintings are known for their subtleties and tonal atmospheric effects. Altogether, his strength was in combining his own personal observations to create connections with audiences in ways that captivate the mind and stimulate emotions.