William A. Harper, “Normandy Pines,” Oil on Canvas, c. 1907

Photograph of a painting.

A half-dozen tall pine trees with rounded tops and barren elongated trunks make up the foreground of this landscape scene. More of these trees combine with rolling farm fields and a small stream to form the background. Down in the near valley, a shepherd accompanies a small flock. Dark greens and browns are the dominant colors, and contrast with the heavily clouded light-blue sky. This painting has been in the permanent collection since 1918. From 1993-2004 it was on loan to the Art Institute of Chicago for an exhibit. “Normandy Pines” was probably painted sometime around 1907, when Harper was studying with artist Henry Ossawa Tanner who had a country home in Etaples, Normandy.

30 1/2 x 40″

(1873-1910)

William Harper was born in Ontario, Canada. In 1881 he was living with his family near Decatur, Illinois. Harper came to Chicago in 1885. He attended the Art Institue from 1895-1901, and he graduated with honors. During those summers he came to the Eagle’s Nest Art Colony with Charles Francis Brown. In addition to painting with Browne, he was employed at the colony. From 1901-1903 Harper taught drawing in Texas. In 1903 Charles Francis Browne and William Wendt brought him to Paris to study at the Julian Academy. Harper’s landscapes were much admired. He died in his late 30s from tuberculosis.

Harper has work in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in Washington D.C. in the National Museum of African American History.