Charles Harper (1922- 2007) was an extremely gifted illustrator who drew his prime work from the late 40s throughout the 60s. If you have old copies of Ford Times from these years, you'll see many of ... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Those assembly line gesture drawings are brilliant. Take s a lot of work to make something look that easy.
I believe he may have been featured at www dot todaysinspiration dot blogspot dot com/ ? A fine site dedicated to commercial art of the 30's thru 60's and maybe beyond? There'd be more examples of his work there for the interested.
I have a lot of Charles Harper signed and numbered lithos. He also did some commercial work portfolio work for a paper company and ads for either a bank or brokerage house that appeared in the WSJ.
His book Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life is amazing. He was a master at breaking things down to a few, minimal shapes. As others have said, to make something look that simple yet still tell the story is unbelievably difficult. What a talent...
Jive-Bomber, Thanks for posting this. Charles Harper An illustrated Life is a book i've had sitting next to my desk since my mom gave it to me for Christmas. Every once in a while it catches my eye and I thumb through it loving every page before getting distracted and have to put it down. I simply must make time for it now. BO
Here's a great site where you can learn more about him and purchase prints. http://www.charleyharperprints.com/products-page/tin-lizzie-dinner-for-two/
In the day job I run a picture framing shop. Yesterday I saw one of my customers coming with a large framed piece of Charley Harper's. I have been a Harper fan for a lot of years. As soon as I saw it I said "that's a Charley Harper serigraph". It was signed and numbered. I would estimate the value at between $300 to $500. The top mat had gotten funky. That was the extent of the damage. She went on to tell that she got it at a Salvation Army thrift store for $3.00! That was a pretty lucky find. Here's a jpeg of of the piece.
Years ago I did an appraisal on some Mid-Century items at a Mid-Century house(imagine that....).The kitchen was the only room that was wallpapered and upon close inspection,it was Charley Harper wallpaper.The lady was going to have it stripped,but after learning what it was,she let it be.