4
●
WILLIAM A. HARPER (1873 - 1910)
Two small landscapes.
Untitled (Farm with LargeTrees)
, oil on board. 150x200 mm; 5
7
/
8
x7
7
/
8
inches. Signed in oil, lower left.
* Untitled (Road to a Village)
, oil on panel (back of a cigar box). 122x190 mm; 4
5
/
8
x7
1
/
2
inches.
Provenance: private collection, Illinois.
William Harper was born in Cayuga, Canada. His family moved to Illinois in 1885, and Harper
attended the Art Institute of Chicago from 1895-1901, working as a night watchman and janitor to
pay for his tuition. He studied in Paris from 1903-1905 at the Académie Julian. In 1905, Harper
earned the Municipal Art League’s blue ribbon at the Art Institute of Chicago for nine of his
paintings. On a return trip to France from 1907-08, Harper studied with Henry Ossawa Tanner.
Harper’s career was cut short when he died of tuberculosis only a few years later at the age of 36.
The Art Institute held a memorial exhibition in Harper’s honor, showcasing 60 of his works. His
paintings are found today in the collections of Tuskegee University and Dr.Walter O. Evans. Barnwell
p. 157; Kennedy p. 119.
[4,000/6,000]