Charley Harper: Canyon Country 1000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

Charley Harper (American, 1922–2007) Canyon Country Canyon Country is one of ten posters Harper was commissioned to create for the US National Park Service. Here he depicted public lands in southern Utah, northern Arizona, eastern Nevada, and western Colorado. His landscape teems with the wildlife that thrives in the desert Southwest’s dramatic terrain. As you put these 1,000 pieces together, some critters will emerge that you may have missed at first look.

Charley Harper

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.