Lot 741
‡EDWARD STEEL HARPER Junior (1878-1951)
LIFE KINDLED OF A FIERY BIRTH
Signed with characteristic signature: ES [harp] ER and dated 1913, signed and inscribed upon a partially fragmented label on the backboard, oil on canvas, within a repousse brass or copper `Arts & Crafts` frame, probably designed and made at the Birmingham School of Art
59 x 74cm.
* The title is from Swinburne's epic poem `Tristram of Lyonesse` (1882). Harper studied at the Birmingham School of Art where a keen focus upon methods and materials was encouraged, especially in wood and metal. Harper was to become a proficient metalworker and an equally accomplished woodworker. Some of his more ambitious compositions have frames like this one: evidently original, carefully executed and made to complement the picture itself so that the Arts & Crafts ethos of thoughtful design and skilful manufacture in perfect harmony can be shown to good effect. Such endeavours must have kept him busy as he is known to have painted over 2000 pictures in a exhibiting career that lasted 17 years.
