The Trees, Early Afternoon, France

ca. 1905

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 761

This rare work by the Black American landscape painter Harper depicts a bucolic scene in the French countryside. Canadian born and Chicago trained, he also studied informally in Paris with Henry Ossawa Tanner, the leading African American expatriate artist of his generation. Harper’s interest in painting regional subjects outside Paris’s urban environs was shared by many artists in these years. In transitional works such as this scene, he revealed the influence on his art of the French Barbizon painters, as well as the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: The Trees, Early Afternoon, France
Artist: William A. Harper (American (born Canada), Cayuga 1873–1910 Mexico City)
Date: ca. 1905
Culture: American
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 20 × 26 in. (50.8 × 66 cm)
Credit Line: Marguerite and Frank A. Cosgrove Jr. Fund, 2015
Object Number: 2015.587
Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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