William A. Harper

William A. Harper (1873 - 1910) ɗan wasan kwaikwayo ne ɗan ƙasar Kanada wanda aka fi sani da zane-zanensa na shimfidar wuri, kuma an wakilta shi a duka Gidan Tarihi na Metropolitan a Birnin New York da Gidan Tarihin Afirka na Tarihi na Afirka a Washington, DC An haifi Harper a ƙauyen Canfield, kusa da Cayuga, Ontario, Kanada, kuma ya yi ƙaura zuwa Illinois a 1885. Ya kammala karatu daga Cibiyar Fasaha ta Chicago ("AIC") a 1901, kuma daga baya ya yi karatu a Académie Julian a Paris, Faransa. An karɓi zane-zanen Harper a kai a kai a cikin nune-nunen juried na AIC da Society of Western Artists kuma an amince da su da kyaututtuka da yawa.

 Rayuwa ta farko da ilimi 
An haifi Harper a ƙauyen Canfield, kusa da Cayuga, Ontario, Kanada, jikan bayi da suka tsere,  kuma ya yi ƙaura zuwa Illinois a 1885  inda ya halarci makarantar shirye-shiryen kwaleji a Jacksonville. Ya shiga cikin AIC a shekara ta 1895, yana aiki a matsayin mai tsabta a can don sanya kansa cikin makaranta. Harper ya shafe lokacin rani yana aiki da zanen a Eagle's Nest Art Colony kusa da Oregon, Illinois inda ya kasance mai karewa na membobin Colony,  ciki har da Lorado Taft, Charles Francis Browne, da William Wendt.  Harper ta kammala karatu daga AIC tare da girmamawa ta biyu a shekara ta 1901. 

 Ayyuka 
Harper ya karbi aiki a Houston, Texas a cikin 1901 a matsayin mai koyar da zane a makarantun jama'a na Houston.

A cikin 1903, ya yi tafiya zuwa Turai, da farko yana zanen tare da William Wendt a Cornwall, Ingila. A cikin fall of 1903, Harper ya shiga Académie Julian a Paris, Faransa, wurin da yawancin masu karatun AIC suka fi so. Yayinda yake a Paris, ya yi amfani da damar don kwafa sanannun zane-zane a Louvre, da kuma bincika da zana ƙauyen Faransa. A cikin bazara na 1904, Harper da Charles Francis Browne sun yi tafiya a kudancin Paris zuwa yankin Barbizon don fenti. A shekara ta 1905, ya dawo Chicago, ya sake aiki a AIC don tallafawa aikinsa na zane, a wannan lokacin a matsayin mai tsaron dare.

A cikin shekarun da suka biyo bayan kammala karatunsa daga AIC, an karɓi zane-zanen Harper a kai a kai a cikin baje kolin shekara-shekara na ayyukan masu zane-zane na Chicago, tare da AIC da Municipal Art League na Chicago da kuma a cikin nune-nunen Society of Western Artists (wanda ya kasance memba). Ya lashe lambar yabo ta Municipal Art League a 1905  da kuma lambar yabo ta Young Fortnightly Club a 1908.  Hotunan Harper da aka haifa a lokacinsa a Cornwall da Faransa sun kasance a cikin nune-nunen da suka fara a 1904 kuma suna nuna tasirin makarantar Barbizon akan aikinsa.

Harper ya yi tafiya ta biyu zuwa Faransa a cikin 1907, a wannan lokacin yana karatu tare da Henry Ossawa Tanner,  mai daraja ɗan wasan kwaikwayo na Amurka, wanda ke da gidaje a Paris da arewacin Faransa. Harper ya ci gaba da zanen a cikin ƙauyen Faransa, kuma a ƙarƙashin tasirin Tanner aikinsa ya fara ɗaukar salon da ya fi dacewa.

A shekara ta 1908, lafiyar Harper ta gaza, kuma ya koma Cuernavaca, Mexico. Duk da haka ya ci gaba da zanen har zuwa mutuwarsa a 1910 daga amfani (tuberculosis). Bayan mutuwarsa, AIC ta nuna nune-nunen solo na zane-zanen Harper sittin, "hakika babban gidan kayan gargajiya na farko ga mai zane-zane baƙar fata a Birnin Chicago, idan ba a ko'ina a Amurka ba".

 Gidajen tarihi / Tari 
Ayyukan Harper suna cikin gidajen tarihi da yawa da mahimman tarin ciki har da:

 Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
 National Museum of African American History in Washington, Washington, D.C.
 Columbus Museum, Columbus, Georgia
 National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
 The DuSable Museum of African American History
 Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan
 Christine M. Schwartz Collection, Chicago, IL
 The Eagle's Nest Art Collection, Oregon Library, Oregon, Illinois
 The Harmon and Harriet Kelley Foundation for The Arts, San Antonio, Texas

 Don ƙarin bayani game da William A. Harper, duba: http://www.williamaharper.com/

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