Harper Ever After is a collection of artwork and photographs offering a fascinating glimpse into the beginnings of a 50-year artistic love story between Charley and Edie Harper, noted visual artists from Cincinnati, Ohio.
The artwork is presented in scrapbook form and reflects the couple's formative artistic development, starting with their student days at the Art Academy of Cincinnati in the 1940s, where the two bonded instantly. The inseparable friends held differing artistic approaches, but both learned basic concepts from distinguished art instructors who served to influence the distinctive styles and sensibilities of the young couple. Charley ultimately became admired for his playful, simply rendered, realistic images of birds and wildlife, while Edie's work, in multiple mediums, tended to be more abstract, displaying wry humor and mysticism.
Many in the art community often consider the Harpers designers. Their work is popular and can be found on everything from prints to posters, needlework patterns, gift wrap and upholstery, even on puzzles and coffee mugs. Harper Ever After, however, presents a diverse trove of never-before-published drawings, paintings and graphics the Harpers created from the 1940s to the 1960s that illustrate the couple's versatility, skill and groundings in fine art. Chip Doyle, curator and archivist, offers a brief introduction. Brett Harper provides background on his parents and specific works of art. And art critic and journalist Sara Caswell-Pearce pays homage to the personal formations of these two gifted artists whose love of art--and each other--inspired and influenced every aspect of their creative and married lives. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines