Edward Steel Harper (1878-1951) – Rockham Bay, Mortehoe

Description

Edward Steel Harper Biography

Edward Steel Harper lived in Birmingham for his entire life and career, though he painted many landscapes in the North Devon area, particularly the Torridge and Taw estuaries around Barnstaple, Bideford and Appledore. Steel Harper’s paintings have a unique quality about them, he bridges a gap between Pre-Raphaelitisim and Impressionism, which is not surprising when armed with the knowledge of his formal art training at Birmingham School of Art – the major centre of the Arts and Crafts movement. He was elected a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists in 1915 and taught art at Wolverhampton Grammar School, retiring in 1942.

In this coastal landscape depicting the rocky outcrop at the Eastern end of Rockham Bay he has employed the ‘wet white’ technique much favoured by the Pre-Raphaelites, where white flake is spread with a palette knife and colour subsequently applied with sable brushes. This technique results in an opaque appearance of the colour pigments, akin to painted porcelain. The artist’s signature features an Irish harp – a play on his surname.

He exhibited extensively at all the principal exhibitions including the Royal Academy, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Walker Art Gallery and Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. His work can be found in many public collections including Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Wednesbury Museum & Art Gallery, Dudley Museums Service, and Leamington Spa.

Available works by Modern British artists.

Edward Steel Harper artworks in UK public collections.