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View works by master illustrator and artist Charley Harper (1922-2007) whose life-long love of nature inspired his work in “Beguiled by the Wild: The Art of Charley Harper” Feb. 27 through April 25 at the Virginia Living Museum, Newport News.  

Harper was best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters and book illustrations. He called his style “minimal realism," capturing the essence of his subjects with the fewest possible visual elements. Using graphic shapes and bold colors, Harper distilled and simplified complex elements. His nature-oriented artwork is often contrasted with the realism of John James Audubon and the simplicity found in Inuit Art.

Harper used many media in his artwork, though he is best known for his serigraph prints. Best known for the children's book “The Golden Book of Biology,” Harper was an extraordinarily prolific graphic designer contributing his unique, geometric style to a wide range of publications. He also created interpretive displays and “bio” posters for many nature-based organizations, including the National Park Service and Cincinnati Zoo.

This is the first exhibit of Harper’s work in Virginia and is built around the personal collection of Museum Executive Director Page Hayhurst and her family. “I grew up with Harper’s works. I saw them every morning while eating breakfast and they helped inspire my lifelong interest in nature and art,” Hayhurst said.

In addition to works collected by the Hayhurst family, the exhibit includes prints from Fabulous Frames and Art of Cincinnati, Ohio. Prints are available for purchase in the Wild Things Museum Store.

The exhibit also includes student artwork based on Charley Harper’s techniques. Hands-on art activities based on Harper’s style include tangrams, large puzzles, alphabet art table and rubbing stations.

The exhibit is supported by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Newport News Arts Commission.

As part of the grant from the Newport News Arts Commission, the Museum provided fifth grade Deer Park Elementary School students in an art enrichment class with books containing Charley Harper art and art materials. The students created artwork in Harper's style and wrote poems about their artwork. They read their poems at the exhibit preview and both poems and artwork are on display during the exhibit.

Museum admission is $15 for adults and $12 for children (ages 3-12). Ages 2 and under are free. Members are admitted free.

The museum is located at 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News, I64, exit 258A.

Call 757-595-1900 or visit www.thevlm.org.

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