{"id":520,"date":"2020-08-03T18:58:44","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T18:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/?p=520"},"modified":"2021-08-22T15:43:58","modified_gmt":"2021-08-22T15:43:58","slug":"memorial-exhibition-at-the-aic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/memorial-exhibition-at-the-aic\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Exhibition at the AIC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Memorial Exhibition at the AIC<\/strong> – <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nhonor of Harper, the AIC held a one-man exhibition of Harper\u2019s paintings from\nJuly 26 to August 28, 1910.  The\ncatalogue for the \u201cExhibition of Paintings of William A. Harper\u201d contained a\nbrief biography about Harper and listed fifty-seven paintings and three groups\nof sketches.  The paintings reflect\nscenes in France, Illinois, and Mexico, some of which had appeared in earlier\nexhibitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly\nafter the opening of the Memorial Exhibition, Mr. and Mrs. F. L Barnett gave a\nreception at the AIC which included a viewing of the Harper exhibition.[1]<\/a>  F. L. Barnett was an\nAfrican-American journalist, lawyer, and civil rights activist in Chicago, Illinois<\/a>,\nand was\na founding editor of The Chicago Conservator<\/em><\/a>\nmonthly in 1878.  He was a successful\nlawyer, being only the third black to be admitted to the Illinois bar.[2]<\/a>  Mrs. Barnett was Ida B. Wells Barnett, an\nAmerican investigative journalist, educator, and an early leader in the civil rights movement<\/a>.  She was also one of the founders of the National Association\nfor the Advancement of Colored People<\/a> (NAACP).[3]<\/a>   An article about the reception appeared in The\nBroad Ax (Salt Lake City, Utah) on August 6, 1910, and  described Harper as \u201cthe most promising artist\nso far produced by the Afro-American race in this country.\u201d[4]<\/a>  It concluded with \u201cAll honor to Mr. and Mrs.\nBarnett for the part they have played in assisting to bring the paintings of\nthe late William Harper to the notice of the public.\u201d  The Barnetts owned at least two Harper paintings,\n\u201cThe Stairway\u201d and \u201cInterior in a Mexican Courtyard\u201d.[5]<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other\nreviews were published regarding the Memorial Exhibition, the most extensive of\nwhich appeared in the Chicago Record Herald on August 7, 1910, in the section\nentitled \u201cAmong the Artists\u201d.  That\narticle reproduced two of the paintings from the exhibition  \u201cMidday in August\u201d and \u201cAugust in France\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Need\nlegible copy of article.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nLos Angeles Herald also reported on the Memorial Exhibition and wrote that: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\nhas been predicted by those familiar with Harper\u2019s painting that he would rival\nthe eminence of Tanner [Henry Ossawa Tanner], and he has already made a vital\nimpression on the art life of his home city and attained a enviable standing\namong the artists of America.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\narticle noted that a painting by Harper entitled \u201cSummer in France\u201d had been\nshown in Los Angeles earlier in the year (and prior to that in Seattle) with an\nexhibition by Eastern artists, and called the work \u201cone of the finest canvases\nin that notable collection\u201d.  The article\nwent on to praise the paintings done in Mexico:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe series of Mexican scenes which have met with especial\nappreciation were painted during the last days of the painter\u2019s life, while in\nhis vain search for health.  Devoting\nhimself mainly to landscape art, his thoroughly decorative compositions are\nfull of strength and dignity, and the most marked characteristic of deep poetic\nfeeling.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bulletin of the AIC also published a\nshort review, stating that,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe showing of Harper\u2019s work was interesting for the\nvariety of sketching grounds represented, for the dignity of the point of view,\nand for a consistently high aim in the conception of his pictures.  Many of the canvases were sketches, and a few\nwere larger works in an unfinished state. \nThe exhibition made clear the fact that by Harper\u2019s death Chicago art\nhas lost a man of fine and unusual talent.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The available records then go silent on\nHarper for a while.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nto Harper\u2019s family, the 1910 U.S. Federal Census shows Harper\u2019s brother, John\nW. Harper as a machinist at Iron Works living with his wife Eliza in Decatur,\nIllinois.  In 1912, John was a \u201cNegro Patron\u201d of the\nFactory Employees\u2019 Hospital Aid society with the goal of raising money for a\nnew hospital.[9]<\/a>  He continued active in the Antioch Baptist\nChurch as a deacon.[10]<\/a>  Like his brother, however, John suffered an\nearly death.  On May 23, 1914, John died\nin his home at 1838 Walnut Grove Avenue of Bright\u2019s disease, a disease of the\nkidney.[11]<\/a>  According to the announcement in the paper, he\n\u201cleaves a widow, Eliza Harper, and a father, John Harper\u201d.  There was no reference to any children or to\nhis other siblings Frances and George. \nThe funeral was held at the Antioch Baptist Church under the auspices of\nthe \u201ccolored Knights of Pythias\u201d, and he was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.[12]<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harper\u2019s father John appears in the 1910\nU.S. Federal Census as a boarder in Decatur, Illinois whose trade was\n\u201cTeamster\u201d and whose occupation was \u201codd jobs\u201d. \nFollowing the death of his sons, John, Sr. continued active in the\nAntioch Baptist Church.[13]<\/a>  In the 1920 US Federal Census, John, Sr. is\nlisted as an \u201cinmate\u201d at the Macon County Infirmary.  The source \u201cFind A Grave\u201d calls the infirmary\nthe \u201cMacon County Poor Farm\u201d.[14]<\/a>  John, Sr. died on February 11, 1921 of heart\ntrouble.  Funeral services for John, Sr.\nwere conducted at the Antioch Baptist Church.[15]<\/a>  According to the death announcement in the\npaper, he had been an inmate at the \u201cfarm\u201d for several months, and \u201cA\ndaughter-in-law is said to be his nearest known relative.\u201d[16]<\/a>  He was likewise buried in Greenwood\nCemetery.  So, thus, sadly the Harper\nfamily appears to end.  William had no\nknown children, and his brother John had no known children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What became of Francis and George is not\nknown.  That being said, however, no\ndeath records for the siblings were found in a search of the Ontario records for\nthe period of approximately 20 years after their last listing in the 1881\ncensus records.  Most importantly,\nneither are found in the Street family cemetery in Canfiield where their mother\nCharity is buried.[17]<\/a>  Perhaps they did in fact emigrate to the U.S.\nas did William and John.  The research\ncontinues.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a>\n\u201cMr. and Mrs. F.L. Barnett Gave a Reception at the Art Institute in Honor of\nMrs. James. L Curtis\u201d, The Broad Ax (Salt Lake City, Utah), August 6, 1910.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ferdinand_Lee_Barnett_(Chicago).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ida_B._Wells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a>\n\u201cMr. and Mrs. F.L. Barnett Gave a Reception at the Art Institute in Honor of\nMrs. James. L Curtis\u201d, The Broad Ax (Salt Lake City, Utah), August 6, 1910.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5]<\/a> \u201cModern Paintings and Sculpture\u201d, catalogue of AIC exhibition November 16 to December 1, 1927.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/a> \u201cArt Notes\u201d, Los Angeles Herald (Los Angeles, California), August 28, 1910.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/a>\n\u201cThe Past Three Months\u201d, Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, Vol. 4, No.\n2 (October 1910).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/a> \u201cFactory Workers Report Success\u201d, The Decatur Herald (Decatur, Illinois), September 1, 1912, p. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/a> \u201cAntioch Baptist Annual Meeting\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/a>\n\u201cJohn W. Harper, Jr.\u201d, The Decatur Herald (Decatur, Illinois), May 24, 1914,\np.3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12]<\/a>\n\u201cJohn W. Harper, Jr.\u201d The Decatur Herald (Decatur, Illinois), May 26, 1914.\nP.3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13]<\/a>\nSee, e.g., \u201cMrs. Sarah Lee\u201d, The Decatur Herald (Decatur, Illinois), April 5,\n1915, p. 3.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[14]<\/a> https:\/\/www.findagrave.com\/memorial\/55149481\/john-harper<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[15]<\/a> \u201cJohn Harper\u201d, The Decatur Herald (Decatur, Illinois), February 12, 1921, p. 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[16]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[17]<\/a> Information\ncourtesy of Canfield researcher Sylvia Weaver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Memorial Exhibition at the AIC – In honor of Harper, the AIC held a one-man exhibition of Harper\u2019s paintings from July 26 to August 28, 1910.  The catalogue for the \u201cExhibition of Paintings of William A. Harper\u201d contained a brief biography about Harper and listed fifty-seven paintings and three groups of sketches.  The paintings reflect … Continue reading “Memorial Exhibition at the AIC”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":543,"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520\/revisions\/543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}