Otter Delight

Minimal realism is how Charley Harper defined his style. I dont count feathers, he said. I just count the wings. Born in rural West Virginia, Harper (19222007) was always drawn to nature; as a boy he would traipse across the local hills, sketchbook in hand, stopping to draw whatever seized his attention. Studies at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and the Art Students League in New York City led him to his unmistakable style, which translates animals into geometric shapes and vivid colors. His work has been featured in Ford Times magazine (19491982); on posters for the National Park Service, the Audubon Society, and many other conservation organizations; and in a string of books, including Charley Harpers Birds and Words (1974), Beguiled by the Wild (1994) and the monograph Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life (2007).