Animals and plants go Midcentury Modern in Charley Harper’s clever conservationist paintings. Inspired by backyard biodiversity and the wonders of nature preserves, Harper portrayed wildlife with heart and humor, in flat colors and simple lines. His depictions of various ecosystems and, above all, birds, showcase his trademark style of Minimal Realism. The paintings here are as brilliant and relevant now as the day they were made, enhancing Harper’s growing legacy as an artist whose work was a quiet catalyst for environmental action.

• Dimensions: Box: 7⅝″×5¼″×2⅛″; Puzzle: 8½″×11″
• Contains two double-sided puzzles for a total of four images to put together: Cardinal Courtship, Michigan Audubon Society, Red and Fed, and Wings of the World.
• High-quality 250-GSM matte art paper for superior color, crisp details, and no glare, produced using thick recycled paper board

About: Charley Harper (August 4, 1922–June 10, 2007) had an alternative way of looking at nature. His serigraphs were large expanses of rich color, which gave the viewer a very different perspective on the animal kingdom. A conservationist as well as an artist, Harper revealed the unique aspects of his wildlife subjects through highly stylized geometric reduction. Harper said he was the only wildlife artist who has never been compared to Audubon, yet his wildlife art was just as instructive—the only difference was that Harper laced his lessons with humor. Harper believed that humor made it easier to encourage changes in our attitudes and awareness of environmental concerns.