Charley Harper (1922-2007)

"Mystery of the Missing Migrants", Charley Harper, acrylic on board, 1992. Mass Audubon Collection.

After you’ve seen your first Charley Harper image, you’ll never have to look for his signature again. “I think flat, simple and funny,” Harper said of his art.

Focusing on the natural world, he reduced each bird, animal or plant to its graphic essence, and customarily accompanied his visual artwork with witty masterpieces of wordplay.

Harper was educated at the Cincinnati Art Academy and the Art Students League in New York City. During his six-decade career, he created paintings, silkscreens, book illustrations, and even ceramic tile murals.

His work is perhaps most widely known through the many posters he designed for conservation organizations and the National Park Service.

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