"A Little History Of The World" By E.H. Gombrich, Illustrations By Clifford Harper (YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS New Haven And London 2008, originally published in German by Steyrermühl-Verlag, Vienna 1936) - Part 4

Here's a link for an article on Clifford Harper (b.1949), his career and technique from the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/gnm-archive/clifford-harper Also a concise biography on the British Cartoon Archive: http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/artists/cliffharper/biography 

"A Little History Of The World" By E.H. Gombrich, Illustrations By Clifford Harper (YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS New Haven And London 2008, originally published in German by Steyrermühl-Verlag, Vienna 1936) - Part 3

E.H. Gombrich became one of the best known art historians of the 20th century with his multi-million selling book "The Story Of Art"(1950) which is still in print today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Gombrich  It's huge success over-shadowed Gombrich's earlier work until the author decided to revise "A Little History Of The World" towards the end of his life and it was published in English for the first time in 2005. The exquisite illustrations by Clifford Harper were the perfect choice for it,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Harper

"A Little History Of The World" By E.H. Gombrich, Illustrations By Clifford Harper (YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS New Haven And London 2008, originally published in German by Steyrermühl-Verlag, Vienna 1936) - Part 2

This is a book that everyone should read! It was written with children and young adults in mind but it offers such a perceptive and rounded description of events and beliefs through thousands of years of human history that it will enrich anybody's knowledge and understanding of the past. In fact, it goes beyond a mere account of facts - it gives an insight into the human psyche, the eternal battle for power, control and domination among mankind and the tragedy of war. Despite its huge popularity both in Germany and internationally, the book was soon banned by the Nazi regime for being too "pacifist", forcing the writer Ernst Gombrich (1909-2001) to flee Germany for Great Britain in 1939.

"A Little History Of The World" By E.H. Gombrich, Illustrations By Clifford Harper (YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS New Haven And London 2008, originally published in German by Steyrermühl-Verlag, Vienna 1936)

"Country Diary Drawings" By Clifford Harper (published by Agraphia Press, London 2003), Part 2

 

 

I thought I'd lost this book for ever and I was so annoyed with myself for not remembering where I had placed it some three years ago! I was preparing to order another one when luckily it appeared behind a bookshelf (where else?) as I was relocating my art books to another room.

 

The book is a collection of 36 drawings done for The Guardian's Country Diary articles, beautifully reproduced in every detail, each one standing in its own page for better appreciation. I love the narrative in them as well as their style and craftsmanship. There's always a bit of mystery and allegory in Harper's work which makes it so much more interesting and special than any other illustration. 

 

 Agraphia Press Ltd (www.agraphiapress.com ) is owned and run by Harper himself as far as I understand - an ideal situation for an artist, to be able to control publications (and profit, hopefully) of his own work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Harper

 

 

 

"Country Diary Drawings" By Clifford Harper (published by Agraphia Press, London 2003)

 

 

More Clifford Harper (illustrations from the Guardian Saturday Review)

Got my brand new computer last week with a brand new operating system (Windows7). My old scanner doesn't work on it though because new drivers are needed for it to work with this new system and because when I did eventually manage to download them they didn't install properly - in other words I can't scan anything for the time being! Slightly annoyed with that (all in the name of progress) but at least I've got these to show. Excellent work by Harper that I've been collecting - and scanning - for years.

"The Buddha And The Terrorist", Satish Kumar, illustrations by Clifford Harper (publ. by Green Books 2004) Part 2

The last few illustrations from this book by Clifford Harper. I love the serenity he achieves in the faces that is only found in religious icons. There is so much work and thought on all the details and the arrangement of the shapes and patterns.

"The Buddha And The Terrorist", Satish Kumar, illustrations by Clifford Harper (publ. by Green Books 2004)

A few months ago I treated myself with three of Clifford Harper's books. This one is by far my favourite but all of them are stunning. Harper draws like nobody else, creating beautiful shapes within shapes and mesmerising patterns which can keep you looking forever. His work can be admired every Saturday on Guardian's review (some samples of which I'll be posting soon) but the quality of these drawings is much, much better. Here's the artist's biography but there are also many other websites that feature articles on him, including Wikipedia. http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/artists/cliffharper/biography