Harvey Tristan Cropper

Harvey Tristan Cropper (August 4, 1931 – November 15, 2012) was an American painter, born in New York City, who in the 1980s moved to Stockholm, Sweden, where he died at the age of 81.[1]

Harvey Tristan Cropper
BornAugust 4, 1931
Sugar Hill, Harlem, New York City
DiedNovember 15, 2012(2012-11-15) (aged 81)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArtist
Known forPainting

Life

Cropper was born on August 4, 1931, in Sugar Hill, Harlem, New York City,[2][3] to West Indian parents who had migrated there from St. Vincent.[1] His father was a pharmacist and his mother was an embroiderer in Harlem.[4] Cropper started creating art at the age of four, and was inspired by the many colors of his mother's silk threads.[3] He studied at the Art Students League of New York, and spent time in private study in Japan.[5] In the early 1950s, while living at 4 Barrow Street in New York's Greenwich Village with the jazz musician Charlie Parker,[6] Cropper taught Parker how to paint in exchange for music lessons.[7][8][9][4]

In 1954 he exhibited his work at the Galerie Moderne.[10] In 1964 his work was part of the 10 American Negro Artists Living and Working in Europe exhibition at Den Frie Udstilling in Copenhagen.[11]

During the Vietnam War, Cropper began to focus on political paintings. His piece "Faces of Apartheid" was used by the United Nations.[3][12]

In the 1970s, Cropper's artistic style began to focus more on meditative creation and still life. In a conversation with Swedish artist and friend Bengt O. Björklund, he explained: "Light, texture and symbolism are important to me. I have become more meditative and once again approached the Japanese tradition and the values Zen stands for."[4]

In 1981 he moved to Stockholm, Sweden, where he spent the rest of his life working in an open studio with other artists.[1][4] He died in Stockholm from cancer in 2012, aged 81.[1]

Further reading
  • Thomison, Dennis (1991). The Black Artist in America: An Index to Reproductions. ISBN 9780810825031. OCLC 810452159.
  • The Art of Harvey Tristan Cropper. 2015. ISBN 9789185747351, OCLC 942288033
  • Harvey Tristan Cropper Some Comments on the 5 Senses. Nilsson & Bergholm. 1987. OCLC 30584797

Additional resources

References
  1. Björklund, Bengt O. (December 28, 2012). "Från Harlem till Söder". sourze.se.
  2. Thomison, Dennis (December 1, 1991). The Black artist in America: an index to reproductions. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-2503-1.
  3. Tebo, Ryan (December 20, 2011), Harvey Tristan Cropper: A Video Portrait, retrieved February 17, 2019
  4. The Art of Harvey Tristan Cropper. Styx förlag. 2015. ISBN 9789185747351. OCLC 942288033.
  5. Cederholm, Theresa Dickason (1973). Afro-American Artists: A Bio-biographical Directory. Trustees of the Boston Public Library. p. 66. ISBN 9780890730072.
  6. Gitler, Ira (1985). Swing to Bop: An Oral History of the Transition in Jazz in the 1940s. Oxford University Press. pp. 297–. ISBN 978-0-19-505070-7.
  7. Spargo, Edward (1974). Selections from the Black. Jamestown Publishers.
  8. Priestley, Brian (May 2007). Chasin' the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker. Oxford University Press. pp. 91–. ISBN 978-0-19-532709-0.
  9. "Charlie "Bird" Parker, 1920-1955". NW Film Center. October 31, 2016.
  10. "Exhibition at Galerie Moderne". Arts Digest. Vol. 28. September 1954. p. 25.
  11. Polite, Allen (1964). Exhibition [of] 10 American Negro Artists Living and Working in Europe: Paintings, Prints, Drawings, Collages: Den Frie, Oslo Plads, Copenhagen, June 11–30, 1964. OCLC 17333008.
  12. Akrofi, E. A. (Eric Ayisi), Smit, Maria., Thorsén, Stig-Magnus. (2007). Music and identity : transformation and negotiation. Stellenbosch: Sun Press. ISBN 9781919980850. OCLC 232335549.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
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