By Shackleton Fox Antiques
It’s not every day you meet someone who feels like an old friend from the very first moment — but that’s exactly what happened when we met Marion Harris aboard the Queen Mary 2.
We were on a 28-day Christmas voyage, sailing from the UK to New York in late December 2025 before continuing on around the Caribbean for two festive weeks. From that very first evening, conversation with Marion flowed so naturally that we barely stopped talking for the entire journey. We laughed, swapped stories, and discovered how much we shared — a love of art, travel, and the curious beauty of the unexpected.
When the ship returned to New York on January 3rd, Marion and her husband disembarked while we continued the final leg of the voyage back to the UK — feeling grateful for the connection and friendship we’d discovered at sea.
Christmas Day 2024! We might have had a few drinks by this stage… we’d been sipping champagne since lunch at the art gallery!
Marion’s Journey
Marion moved from Scotland to New York in the 1980s, carving out a remarkable niche in the world of antiques, outsider art, and objects of curiosity. Today, she and her husband continue to live near New York, and her philosophy sums up her unique perspective perfectly:
“Where classic meets curious.”
Through her website, marion-harris.com, you can explore her biography (under the About menu) and a rich archive of her work — from antiques and vintage discoveries to art installations and collaborations with museums, designers, and collectors worldwide.
Her eye always celebrates the unexpected — antique mannequins, outsider art, found objects, and those intriguing pieces that blur the line between art and life.
Press, Projects, and the Curious World of Marion Harris
Under the Press section of Marion’s site, you’ll find interviews and articles chronicling her fascinating career — from Maine Antique Digest to Antiques & the Arts Weekly.
She also shares highlights from her imaginative advertising series that ran for several years on the back pages of Maine Antique Digest — witty, visually engaging pieces that perfectly reflect her character and curiosity.
National Arts Club & Morton Bartlett
Among Marion’s most intriguing recent projects was her collaboration with the National Arts Club around the work of Morton Bartlett — the self-taught artist known for his hauntingly lifelike dolls and photographs. Marion’s involvement helped bring Bartlett’s work to a wider audience, demonstrating her instinct for finding beauty and meaning in the overlooked or misunderstood.
Shackleton Fox & Marion Harris Collaboration: The Art of the Mannequin
We are now delighted to be working with Marion on a new project inspired by the late Derek Carruthers (1935 – 2021), Professor of Art at King’s College Durham and a leading figure in British Constructivist and Abstract Art.
Our shared focus is the artist’s mannequin — those wonderfully articulated wooden figures that have been a mainstay of artists’ studios since the Renaissance. From Michelangelo to Man Ray, they have served as both tool and muse — timeless, poseable, and full of character.
Carruthers produced a remarkable body of paintings and drawings featuring these figures — the same ones he used to teach his students still life. Exhibited internationally alongside Victor Pasmore, his work helped define the post-war British modern art movement.
Together with Marion, we plan to bring this collection to new audiences, linking the historical fascination with mannequins to her passion for objects that embody both history and imagination. Our intention is to curate and present this work internationally, blending art, heritage, and storytelling.
Looking Ahead
Marion is now considering a return to the UK to be closer to family — a beautiful full-circle moment after decades immersed in New York’s vibrant art and antiques scene. Wherever she settles, her distinctive eye and love of the curious will continue to shine.
For us, what began on a ship in the middle of the Caribbean has become something deeply meaningful — a friendship grounded in shared values and creative vision. We believe, as Marion does, in the power of connection: between people, between objects, and across time.
Explore More
🔗 Visit www.marion-harris.com
📍 Based in New York
🎨 Upcoming projects: Artist’s Mannequins & Derek Carruthers Art
