Harper Exhibitions Are a Love Letter to the Artists

Story and photos by Mary Casey-Sturk

I’ve long been a fan of both Charley Harper and Edie McKee Harper’s art and I was very excited to learn about the retrospective exhibitions opening at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Taft Museum of Art.

What I didn’t expect was how emotional I would become viewing their art and learning more of their stories.

Starting with The Art of Charley Harper: Creatures Wild and Tame at the Cincinnati Art Museum (October 16-March 7):

The museum shares on their website, “The Art of Charley Harper: Creatures Wild and Tame takes an in-depth look at the work of the beloved mid-century modern artist, designer, illustrator, and nature advocate. Harper’s “minimal realism,” as he called his style, is deceptively simple, reducing nature to essential characteristics in elegant, witty, vividly colored imagery that breathes with life and personality. Deeply committed to wildlife conservation, Harper created dozens of now-iconic posters for the National Park Service and nature organizations. Featuring more than 140 of the artist’s drawings, gouaches, collages, screen prints, paintings, and posters, Creatures Wild and Tame and its accompanying catalogue (published by D. Giles Ltd) reveal the backstories behind Harper’s celebrated work.”

That’s the official description, and it’s a good one. But for me, walking through the extensive works, including sketches, finished works, tools, a timeline of his life (1922-2007), viewing images of his home and so much more felt like a love letter to one of my favorite artists. I can barely remember a time when both Charley and Edie McKee Harper’s artwork wasn’t part of my everyday life, with prints on my walls and a signed copy of Beguiled by the Wild: The Art of Charley Harper proudly on my bookcase.

Late in his life, Charley Harper was having a book signing at the Cincinnati Art Museum and I was working there at the time. He signed a greeting card for me, one with an image of an owl on it. I asked him to sign in for my grandmother who loved owls and his work. When I gave it to her, she was perplexed as to why I would give her an owl. I reminded her that she loved and collected owls, she had no idea. It was a beginning of a difficult journey for her and our family, but every time I look at that owl, now in my home, I think of the grandmother who practically raised me and I think of Charley Harper for his kindness that day as I shared with him how excited I was to give his owl to my grandma.

Thank you, Cincinnati Art Museum, for “all the feels” as I visited this exhibition. This exhibition is organized by the Cincinnati Art Museum in partnership with the Charley Harper Art Studio.

The Taft Museum of Art is home to an exhibition featuring Edie McKee Harper. Edie McKee Harper: Modernist at Play is on display October 17-January 24:

Don’t miss this exhibition either! I’ve also been a fan of her work, but I had no idea how diverse her creations were. I was surprised to see enamels and weavings in this exhibition. I shouldn’t have been, as the museum shares, “Edie McKee Harper (American, 1922–2010) developed a distinctive modernist vision across a wide variety of media, including photographs, paintings, enamels, weavings, illustrations, and prints. The first solo museum exhibition of the artist features more than 100 works, revealing a sophisticated artist who expanded the possibilities of mid-20th-century art and design. The exhibition traces Edie McKee Harper’s creative journey through themes such as the American landscape, abstraction, storytelling and the animal world—especially domestic cats.”

It’s the cats that tug at my heart, if you know me, you know I am a cat lover. Her images of calico cats particularly draw me in. I’ve had many calicos during my lifetime, Tiffany, Jennifer, Holly, Paisley, Sophie, Maggie and while I have no proof, I’ve always insisted that Lily, Lucy and Monet had a calico mom (they were strays in my neighborhood). I always referred to their mom as a “calico warrior”. Whether she was truly a calico, I’ll never know as I never found her and the girls weren’t telling.

My time exploring this exhibition was special, I enjoyed seeing her photography and images of Edie herself throughout her life. This exhibition, like the one at the Cincinnati Art Museum, has a deeply personal touch and both are comprehensive examinations of their work. Again, I had “all the feels”, and all the cats!

At the Taft Museum of Art, they offer an accompanying catalog highlighting Edie Harper’s career. This exhibition is organized by the Taft Museum of Art in partnership with the Charley and Edie Harper Art Studio.

Both exhibitions had me taking a second turn around the galleries, and I’ll be back soon.

For more information: cincinnatiartmuseum.org, taftmuseum.org