bio

Hannah Harper is a contemporary wildlife painter from Southern Oklahoma. As a teenager, she was fortunate to attend a workshop with artists John and Terri Moyers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum; soon after, the Moyers invited her to study and live with them in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. During her time in Santa Fe, Harper also received classical training at the Ryder Studio under instructors Anthony and Celeste Ryder. The Ryders, along with the Moyers, instilled in Harper the importance of drawing and painting from life. She carries this foundation into her current work and continues to maintain a plein air painting practice.

After completing her BFA in Painting at the University of New Mexico in 2019, Harper returned home to Oklahoma to begin graduate school at the University of Oklahoma, where she earned her MFA in Painting in 2023. She now resides in Norman, Oklahoma, and is represented by Manitou Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Claggett/Rey Gallery in Edwards, Colorado.

statement

I have always held an adoration for the natural world and its wild inhabitants. Catching insects and frogs, exploring, and drawing animals were among my favorite childhood pastimes. In my current work, it is my pursuit to portray wildlife as I saw them in my youth, with empathy and whimsy. My hope as a painter is to stir within the viewer a sense of child-like wonder towards wildlife, who possess feelings not dissimilar to our own.