Charley Harper: Birducopia 1000 Piece Puzzle

By Charley Harper
Puzzle size: 16 x 32 in.
1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

Birducopia, 2000, by Charley Harper (American, 1922–2007) As an avid naturalist, Charley Harper made it his life’s work to paint the insects, plants, birds, and animals he loved. Early on, his ultrarealistic works gave way to familiar scenes based on bold geometric shapes, crisp lines, and jolts of unmodulated color. Harper’s posters for conservation organizations have become some of his most enjoyed works—skillful and playful menageries of local wildlife. Populated by ferns and fawns, salamanders and scarlet tanagers, Birducopia presents a multitude of creatures from Ohio’s Penitentiary Glen.

Midcentury modernist Charley Harper (American, 1922–2007) portrayed the natural world with heart and humor. In vivid colors and simple shapes, his cardinals, ladybugs, and clever critters have become icons of wildlife art. His illustrations were published in magazines and books, notably Ford Times and The Giant Golden Book of Biology. A longtime conservationist, Harper created posters for more than 50 nature- and conservation-oriented organizations. His US National Park Service posters—massive, requiring a year each to paint—showcase delightful depictions of entire ecosystems in a style he defined as “minimal realism.” In his adopted hometown of Cincinnati, his public works are the legacy of an artist truly beguiled by the wild, one whose art was a quiet catalyst for ecological action.