Yvonne shares Love for Charley Harper

“Minimal Realism” is a term coined by the humble, charming and talented Mr. Charley Harper to describe his art, which reduces his subjects—usually birds and animals—to the simplest possible visual terms.

Charley loved a good pun, and claims that much of his work was inspired by the caption first.

























Love From Above



Catnip












Born in 1922 in rural West Virginia, Charley hated farming and couldn’t wait to move on. His typical humor shows in his description of choosing an art school:

“…I sent away for folders from various art schools that I found down in the hills. And there was one that came from the Art Academy of Cincinnati that had a self-portrait of a beautiful young girl on the front cover. And I thought, “Well, this is as good a reason to pick Cincinnati as any.” So I came here. And after I got here, she was an upperclassman, and she never paid a bit of attention to me. But I met Edie. My future wife.”*

Although Charley and Edie were married for 60 years, it wasn’t love at first sight. Their friendship developed in art class, and in Charley’s words, “we just became accustomed to each other.” Perhaps not the most romantic beginning, but years later, Charley still called Edie his best friend.

Two years into art school, Charley was drafted in the Army. The chaplain in his Division offered to carry Charley’s art supplies in his pack, thereby allowed the young artist to continue to draw, which helped him deal with the horrors of wartime in Europe.

After the war, Charley graduated from art school and married Edie. Their four-month honeymoon along the West Coast of the US to Florida inspired what Charley considered some of his most important work.














Grand Canyon














Visiting national parks continued to inspire Charley, and his posters for these parks are familiar images to many of us today. In fact, during my own honeymoon in Costa Rica, my husband and visited this park and fell in love with this poster.

Years before I knew who Charley Harper was, his work graced my wall. It continues to amaze me that this picture takes all the of the best elements of that magical place, and boils them down into such a deceptively simple collection of images.

When asked to describe this unique visual style, Charley said:

“I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures. I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced, without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in which the artist can create an ordered universe.”

Thank you, Charley Harper, for making my universe more beautiful!


*From Charlie Harper, An Illustrated Life -- Todd Oldham