Harper Ever After: The Early Work of Charley and Edie Harper

Charley Harper and Edie McKee met on the first day of school at the Art Academy of Cincinnati in 1940. They studied together, fell in love, survived World War II, married, and embarked on successful careers in art. Today, Charley’s work is iconic, known around the world particularly for his images of birds and other wildlife created with simple—but accurate—geometric forms. Edie’s fine art photographs, paintings, prints, designs, and illustrations have earned her lasting respect. Harper Ever After presents paintings and prints from both artists, from their early art school days until 1960, when Charley created Cardinal, now one of his best-known images. The artists’ command of a wide range of styles—from realism to abstraction to cubism—is not only impressive, it informs the path each took to arrive at their individual techniques. The subjects they chose to depict are just as diverse. Harper Ever After presents great talent in its formative years. Longtime Harper fans and collectors will appreciate never-before-seen artwork and come away with a new appreciation of the Harpers’ mature work, post-1960.

Charley Harper

Midcentury modernist Charley Harper (American, 1922–2007) portrayed the natural world with heart and humor. In vivid colors and simple shapes, his cardinals, ladybugs, and clever critters have become icons of wildlife art. His illustrations were published in magazines and books, notably Ford Times and The Giant Golden Book of Biology. A longtime conservationist, Harper created posters for more than 50 nature- and conservation-oriented organizations. His US National Park Service posters—massive, requiring a year each to paint—showcase delightful depictions of entire ecosystems in a style he defined as “minimal realism.” In his adopted hometown of Cincinnati, his public works are the legacy of an artist truly beguiled by the wild, one whose art was a quiet catalyst for ecological action.