Artist Neil Harpe is well known for his marine art: Chesapeake skipjacks , stately lighthouses and watermen. Born and raised  in Annapolis, Maryland, Harpe was always attracted to the marine environs for inspiration having been around boats and the Chesapeake  Bay all his life. However, Harpe has never been content to pursue only marine images.

 In 1995, Harpe introduced  his  lifetime's passion of the blues and of guitars into his art. He painted a series of portraits of famous blues musicians: Blind Boy Fuller, Lonnie Johnson, Memphis Minnie, Blind Lemon Jefferson and more.  In this same vein, he recently completed an assignment  to create a dozen illustrations for a book about Delta Blues that is due to be published in 2008.

Harpe's passion for the  blues began at a young age. He learned to play  the guitar when he was 12 and inspired by Elvis began as a rock & roller. By the time Neil was in high school, he had discovered the blues! At  the age of 17 he perused the  Goodwill store every week looking  through piles of old 78's, hoping to   uncover an old blues record from the 1920's or 30's. While his peers were listening to the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones, Neil was listening to the blues musicians: Blind Boy Fuller, Lonnie Johnson, Memphis Minnie and Mississippi John Hurt.

Harpe, who has owned hundreds of guitars over the past 30 years says, "I am not a collector, more of a 'Catch & Release fisherman' . The thrill is in having the opportunity to experience each instrument for it's unique sound and personality."  Over the years Harpe has amassed a sizeable collection of “Stella” guitars and has written a book about them. Made between 1900 and 1937, they were the guitars of choice for such blues performers as Charley Patton, Willie Brown and Lead Belly. He has a website devoted to buying, selling and purveying information about these instruments: http://www.stellaguitars.com.

Parallel to his visual art career, the multi-talented artist has been an active performer all his adult life and is an accomplished guitarist,  performing at many venues. Neil  has performed for the Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival, Herndon Blues Festival, Smithsonian Associates, Hirshhorn Museum (in conjunction with Black History Month), Washington Folk Festival, Takoma Park Folk Festival, Northern Virginia Folk Festival, Quiet Waters Park and the D.C. Blues Festival. He recorded an LP entitled "Neil Harpe", for Adelphi Records in 1972.  Several years ago Neil produced a solo CD, and last year he released a  CD of classic blues duets with Max Ochs. Most recently, Neil and his daughter Erin Harpe released a CD together! Harpe has also released a couple of albums of blues and "hokum" ragtime material with Rick Franklin and Rick Usiltion.

•  Born in Annapolis, Maryland, 1946

Education

• 4-Year Diploma - Corcoran School of Art, Washington, D.C., 1969 (graphics), awarded 1st prize in graphics - 1969 Corcoran School of Art Concours.

• BFA Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, 1973 (multi-media)

• MFA George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 1977 (printmaking)

 

Art

• Taught college art, 1977-1984, Corcoran School of Art, Northern Virginia Community College and University of Maryland University College.

• Winner of "Award of Excellence" at 1993 Mystic International Exhibition, Mystic, Connecticut.

•   Art displayed in more than 50 art galleries, internationally.

• Participant in "Art in the Embassies Program", U.S. State Dept., work displayed in U.S. Embassies throughout the globe.

• Art work in many private and corporate collections, including U.S. Naval Academy, the Beverly Robinson Collection of Naval & Marine Art, Calvert Marine Museum, Westinghouse, U.S. Department of State

• Harpe’s black & white lithographs of watermen illustrated writer Mark Jacoby’s book “Working the Chesapeake”.