{"id":531,"date":"2020-08-17T21:06:25","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T21:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/?p=531"},"modified":"2021-08-22T15:41:40","modified_gmt":"2021-08-22T15:41:40","slug":"epilogue-or-the-rest-of-the-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/epilogue-or-the-rest-of-the-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Epilogue, or The Rest of the Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Epilogue, or The Rest of the Story<\/strong> – <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harper\u2019s\nuntimely death meant a fall from the general public conscience of a promising\nand upcoming artist. But even though his works no longer appeared in the\nregular Chicago exhibitions, he was not altogether forgotten.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many\nof Harper\u2019s paintings were clearly sold in Chicago.  A significant number of his works, however, remained\nin Decatur, Illinois following his death and were purchased by local\nresidents.  In 1922, an exhibit was held\nat the Decatur Art Institute which contained 34 paintings by Harper.  Those paintings were owned and loaned by five\ndifferent individuals.[1]<\/a>  According to the Decatur Herald:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are in addition in the north room\nand hall more than 30 paintings by the late William Harper of Decatur, an\nartist better known in France than in his home country in his lifetime, but\nwhose works are gaining in value every year.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harper\nwould continue to be remembered in Decatur at the Decatur Art Center, and in\n1959 the Center would own three of his paintings.[3]<\/a>  One of those paintings, \u201cLandscape\n(Brittany)\u201d, appears to be the one acquired by the Columbus Museum in Columbus,\nGeorgia in 2019.[4]<\/a>  See the \u201cPaintings Gallery\u201d on this website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside\nof Decatur, Harper\u2019s paintings continued to appear occasionally in exhibitions,\nmainly of black artists.  In 1927, an\nexhibition of the works of \u201cmodern Negro painters and sculptors\u201d held at the\nAIC included works by both Harper and Tanner. \nThe catalogue for the exhibition was entitled \u201cThe Negro in Art Week\u201d\nand listed four paintings by Harper loaned by four different individuals, all\npaintings helpfully entitled \u201cLandscape\u201d. \nFour paintings by Tanner were likewise included in the exhibition.  Fortunately, two of the paintings by Harper\nwere reproduced in the catalog, and those images are posted on this website in\nthe \u201cPaintings Gallery\u201d.  Both of these\npaintings would later be reproduced in the book The Negro In Art,[5]<\/a> by Alain Locke, with the\nnames \u201cProvincial Landscape\u201d and \u201cThe Sunlit Wall:  Brittany\u201d. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At\nthe time of the 1927 exhibition, Lorado Taft wrote a brief letter or article in\nthe Chicago Tribune under the column \u201cVoice of the People\u201d.  This letter was discussed earlier in\nconnection with Harper\u2019s time teaching in Houston, but it is worth reviewing in\nthe context of this exhibition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChicago,\nNov. 14 \u2013 The coming exhibition of art works by colored artists recalls to me\nmany pleasant relations with H.O. Tanner and William A. Harper\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will Harper was in his time the pride of\nthe Art Institute.  This earnest student,\nwho was obliged to work his way through the school, continually surprised us by\nthe large simplicity of his compositions and the somber richness of his\ncoloring.  Mr. Harper became a superintendent\nof drawing in the public schools of an important city of the south.  Never shall I forget an evening when I found\nmyself lecturing there.  The great hall\nwas filled below with the beauty and chivalry of the place, while in the\ndimness of the gallery sat one lone, dark figure \u2013 my friend Harper.  The colored teachers had obtained permission\nto attend, but through some misunderstanding were represented by him\nalone.  It was a strange feeling that\nthis social exile was perhaps the only one in my audience who completely\nunderstood what I was trying to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both of these brave men have been called\nto another world.  They certainly did\ntheir part toward making this one more beautiful.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taft\nclearly had a deep friendship with and respect for Harper, and it is impressive\nthat Taft would take the time to praise him so many years after his death.  It should be remembered that Taft presented\none of the eulogies at Harper\u2019s funeral in Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nTaft letter inspired similar praise for Harper from a former Decatur, Illinois\nresident, A. F. Wilson.  Wilson was the\nson of Mrs. Harry Haines (Mary Judy Wilson Haines), a prominent citizen of\nDecatur, who owned at least 29 of Harper\u2019s works and was one of the lenders for\nthe 1922 exhibition in Decatur discussed above. \nThe letter likewise appeared in the Chicago Tribune, and was quoted in\nThe Decatur Daily Review as follows:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn\nyour column yesterday there was a letter from Lorado Taft berating the\nnonappreciation of the work of the late William A. Harper, the Negro\nartist.  Harper was from Decatur, Ill.,\nand at the time of his death his sister was my mother\u2019s maid.  In Decatur he was never able to forget the\nfact that he was colored and, realizing his handicap, he went to France.  Upon his return from France he brought with\nhim over thirty landscapes, which he stored with his sister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\na stay in Decatur he realized that, although he had made quite a name for\nhimself of the realm of art in France, where color distinctions are not so\nfinely drawn, he was without honor in his home town.  The then went to Mexico, where he died.  Upon his death a few of his pictures were\nsent to his sister, but many which he had mentioned in his letters were lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nyears these paintings were stored in the little frame house of his sister,\nuntil one day she casually mentioned it to my mother, who became interested and\nfinally bought the whole lot, for much more than she would have been able to\nget by selling them herself, but a drop in the bucket compared to their worth from\nthe standpoint of artistry. Two of these pictures I now have in Chicago; the\nrest are still in my mother\u2019s possession.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be pointed out that unless Harper had a second sister of which we have found no record, the reference to Harper\u2019s \u201csister\u201d was most likely to his sister in law, Eliza Harper (John\u2019s wife).  There are no records of a Frances Harper in Decatur during this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nChicago Tribune also published a review of the exhibition, and as to Harper\nwrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeveral\nyears ago there came to the Art Institute art school a young colored boy of\nsplendid physique and great ambition. \nThese attributes coupled and a unique talent won him recognition and\nNewton H. Carpenter, late secretary of the Art Institute, backed him.  Mr. Carpenter helped him through the art\nschool and later gave him years of instruction in Paris.  There the artist, William Harper, contracted\nconsumption.  He came home, was sent to\nNew Mexico; lived a little span and painted a few pictures, and then died,\nstill a young man.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is notable that Harper was selected\nfor special recognition by the article, but the errors in this description are\nfairly egregious.  First, Harper was over\n20 when he arrived at the AIC; second, Carpenter did not give him \u201cyears of\ninstruction in Paris\u201d; and third, he did not die in New Mexico.  Such are the problems with newspaper articles\nreporting on events occurring many years previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1940, the \u201cExhibition of the Art of\nthe American Negro (1851 to 1940)\u201d presented in Chicago featured two of\nHarper\u2019s paintings, \u201cStairway\u201d and \u201cInterior in a Mexican Courtyard\u201d.  Both of these paintings were lent from the\nBarnett Collection.[9]<\/a>  The Barnett\u2019s connection with Harper is\naddressed in the \u201cMemorial Exhibition at the AIC\u201d chapter.  Unfortunately, neither painting was\nreproduced in the exhibition catalog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1985, the Evans-Tibbs Collection in\nWashington, D.C. presented an exhibition entitled \u201cTanner \u2013 Harper \u2013\nScott.  A Mentor and his Influence\u201d which\npostulated that Tanner was Harper\u2019s mentor. \nThe accompanying catalogue cited a Turner biography in support thereof,\nbut unfortunately that biography provided no supporting documentation for that\nassumption.  While this may in fact have\nbeen the case, and it is most certain that Harper knew Tanner, some missing\nprimary source is needed in order to validate this conclusion.  Fortunately, the exhibition contained two\npaintings by Harper which were reproduced in the catalog entitled \u201cThe\nStaircase\u201d and \u201cThe Patio\u201d.  Both of\nthese paintings are likewise reproduced on this website in the \u201cPaintings\nGallery\u201d.  Given the similarity in titles\nwith the two paintings from the 1940 exhibition (\u201cStairway\u201d and \u201cInterior in a\nMexican Courtyard\u201d), one wonders whether these might actually be the same\npaintings.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1999, an exhibition of \u201cAmerican Art\nfrom Historically Black Colleges and Universities\u201d entitled \u201cConserve a Legacy\u201d\ncontained a landscape painting from the Collection of Tuskeegee University.  This is the same painting that was reproduced\nby the Chicago Sunday Record-Herald in its August 7, 1910 article reviewing Harper\u2019s Memorial\nExhibition as \u201cAugust in France\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, a little over one\nhundred years after his death, Harper achieved the ultimate recognition for an\nAmerican artist.  In 2015, the Metropolitan\nMuseum of Art in New York acquired his painting \u201cThe Trees\u201d or \u201cEarly Afternoon\nFrance\u201d and hung it in Gallery 770 of American Wing.  That honor was closely followed by the installation\nof an untitled French landscape by Harper in the National Museum of African\nAmerican History & Culture Smithsonian Institute of in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As interest in Harper\u2019s\nwork continues to grow, it can only be hoped that more of his paintings will be\nlocated and documented so that they can be shared with the public.  Hopefully, this website can assist with the\nrediscovery of this intriguing artist.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a>\n\u201cOriental Rugs in Art Exhibition\u201d, The Decatur Review, January 8, 1922, p. 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a>\n:Art Institute Presents Bazar-like Appearance\u201d, The Decatur Herald, January 8, 1922, p. 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> \u201cArt\nCenter Gets William Harper Painting from Mueller Estate\u201d, The Decatur Herald,\nNovember 22, 1959, p. 9\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a> The\narticle referred to in the above footnote was found on the back of this\npainting.  Information courtesy of the\nRichard Norton Gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/a> The\nNegro In Art by Alain Locke, Associates in Negro Folk Education,\nWashington, D.C., 1940.  This book\nreferred to Harper as an \u201cinformal pupil\u201d of Tanner, but unfortunately\nwith no supporting documentation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/a>\nLetter from Lorado Taft entitled \u201cThe Work of Negro Artists\u201d, Chicago Tribune,\nNovember 17, 1927, p. 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/a>\n\u201cPraise Work of Negro Artist From Decatur\u201d, The Decatur Daily Review, November\n25, 1927, p. 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/a> \u201cExhibit\nof Negroes\u2019 Art Opens Tomorrow at Art Institute\u201d, Chicago Tribune (Chicago,\nIllinois), November 15, 1927, p. 36.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/a>\nCatalog of the \u201cExhibition of the Art of the American Negro (1851 to 1940),\nassembled by the American Negro Exhibition, on view July 4 to September 2,\n1940, Tanner Art Galleries\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Epilogue, or The Rest of the Story – Harper\u2019s untimely death meant a fall from the general public conscience of a promising and upcoming artist. But even though his works no longer appeared in the regular Chicago exhibitions, he was not altogether forgotten.  Many of Harper\u2019s paintings were clearly sold in Chicago.  A significant number … Continue reading “Epilogue, or The Rest of the Story”<\/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\/531"}],"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=531"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":622,"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531\/revisions\/622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.williamaharper.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}