Rye Arts Center Auction of Harper Sculpture Exceeds Expectations

Rye Arts Center Auction of Harper  Sculpture Exceeds Expectations: Though he was once an industrial designer by profession, and a successful one at that, Irving Harper has found celebrity in the 98th year of his life because of his whimsical, colorful, and structurally complex paper sculptures.

January 16, 2015
2 min read

RAC-editors-thRye Arts Center Auction of Harper  Sculpture Exceeds Expectations:

Though he was once an industrial designer by profession, and a successful one at that, Irving Harper has found celebrity in the 98th year of his life because of his whimsical, colorful, and structurally complex paper sculptures.

 

By Margot Clark-Junkins

 

{gallery}RAC1.16.15{/gallery}

Though he was once an industrial designer by profession, and a successful one at that, Irving Harper has found celebrity in the 98th year of his life because of his whimsical, colorful, and structurally complex paper sculptures.

These last few months, not only our community but countless visitors from well beyond Westchester have had the privilege of visiting Harper’s creations at the Rye Arts Center’s delightful exhibit, “Irving Harper: Mid-Century Mind at Play,” curated by Katharine Dufault and Jeff Taylor. (The exhibit closes January 24.)

Harper has lived in Rye for over 50 years and his home is filled with hundreds of paper sculptures. After working closely with the curators to prepare the exhibit, he decided to give one of the pieces — a coiled paper snake — to the RAC as a gesture of thanks. He encouraged the not-for-profit to hold an auction at which the snake would be sold to the highest bidder. Knowing that the funds raised would go to all arts, education, and outreach initiatives, Executive Director Helen Gates was thrilled and acted quickly to bring the event together. And Auction Co-Chairs Meg Rodriguez and Judith Passanante attended to every detail.

On a bitterly cold night last weekend, the Arts Center was filled with admirers, bidders, and spectators, eager to see who would bring home the vibrant snake with red stripes and turquoise and green spikes.

As the auction drew near, the man of the hour was wheeled toward the podium. With a glass of red wine in hand and warm slippers on his feet, Mr. Harper signed copies of a book about his paper sculptures and spoke politely with his admirers. He handled the attention with aplomb, raising his glass with a smile when a photographer called out to him, “Cheers.”

Once the auction got underway, the packed room grew silent and tense whenever auctioneer Jeff Taylor elicited the next highest bid. Time slowed to a crawl before the hammer went down. Sold — for $21,000 to Kate and Paul Conn of Rye!

All were happy to see a creative genius lauded for his life’s work; and happy to see a community arts center doing what it does best: bringing people together to celebrate creativity.

 

— Photos by Kathleen Durkee

 

 

Filed Under:
Subscribe and get freshly baked articles. Join the community!
Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.

kuwin

iplwin

my 11 circle

betway

jeetbuzz

satta king 786

betvisa

winbuzz

dafabet

rummy nabob 777

rummy deity

yono rummy

shbet

kubet

winbuzz

daman games

winbuzz

betvisa

betvisa

betvisa

baji999

marvelbet

krikya

Dbbet

Nagad88

Babu88

Six6s

Bhaggo

Elonbet

yono rummy

rummy glee

rummy perfect

rummy nabob

rummy modern

rummy wealth

jeetbuzz

iplwin

yono rummy

rummy deity

rummy app

betvisa

lotus365

hi88

8day

97win

n88

red88

king88

j88

i9bet

good88

nohu78

99ok

bet168

betvisa

satta king

satta matta matka

betvisa

mostplay

4rabet

leonbet

pin up

mostbet

rummy modern

Fastwin Login

Khela88

Fancywin

Jita Ace

Betjili

Betvisa

Babu88

jeetwin

nagad88

jaya9

joya 9

khela88

babu88

babu888

mostplay

marvelbet

baji999

abbabet

Jaya9

Mostbet

MCW

Jeetwin

Babu88

Nagad88

Betvisa

Marvelbet

Baji999

Jeetbuzz

Mostplay

Jwin7

Melbet

Betjili

Six6s

Krikya

Jitabet

Glory Casino

Betjee

Jita Ace

Crickex

Winbdt

PBC88

R777

Jitawin

Khela88

Bhaggo