Cincinnati wildlife artist Charley Harper passed away on Sunday, June 10, 2007. He had battled pneumonia over the past few months.

Harper was born in West Virginia in 1922.  He graduated from, and taught art at, the Art Academy of Cincinnati where he met wife, Edie, also an artist. The two married in 1947 after graduating.

Harper's paintings have appeared in nature-oriented magazines and on posters for many conservation-minded organizations, among them the National Park Service; Cincinnati Zoo; Cincinnati Nature Center; Hamilton County (Ohio) Park District; and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. He has illustrated "The Golden Book of Biology"; "The Animal Kingdom, Birds & Words"; and "Beguiled by the Wild; The Art of Charley Harper."  He also designed interpretive displays for Everglades National Park. He had produced more than 100 limited-edition silk-screen prints.

When once asked to describe his art style, Harper replied, "When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures. I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced, without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in which the artist can create an ordered universe."

To view some of the other posters that Charley Harper illustrated for the National Park Service, search "Harper" at: http://home.nps.gov/applications/ hafe/hfc/salespub-all.cfm.