The Trees, Early Afternoon, France

William A. Harper American, born Canada
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

Object Information
  • 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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