Charley Harper Round Robin

Charley Harper 

 American illustrator Charley Harper was born in 1922 on a West Virginian farm. Choosing an artistic life, he joined the Art Academy of Cincinnati, where he studied colour theory with none other than Josef Albers, the Bauhaus painter who was visiting the United States at the time.

Harper worked as a commercial illustrator but quickly grew bored with the job. He distanced himself from realism, saying that “this method of dealing with form never revealed anything new about the subject.” He perfected his drawing process with clean-cut, bi-dimensional flat shapes devoid of any perspective. 

Inspired by modern movements like cubism, his illustrations reflect a style that he called “minimal realism.” In this simple yet complex illustration, the birds are easily recognized. 

Over the years and until his death at age 84, Harper illustrated numerous articles in ’40s and ’50s magazines and children’s biology books.

Size: 7.25” x 2.5” x 5" 

*This is not a toy.