Born on the East Side of Wilmington, DE in 1916, grows up and, as an 84 year old man in year 2000, glares at a computer screen and witnesses a listing of 113 of his drawings from the Index of American Design made while working on the WPA Arts Project in the late 1930’s to early 1940’s.

This actually happened recently when Edward Loper, Sr. watched a search of the National Gallery of Art’s Website under the heading, Works on Paper.
Listings include, e. g., Pa. German Chair (1937), Dulcimer (1937), Wooden Thread Holder (1937), and Toy Bank: Speaking Dog (1935-42). Realizing that these drawings were not art images but illustrations, Loper, for more than 60 years now, has been on a quest to discover what constitutes "real art." Through years of self directed study and persistence under all kinds of adverse conditions, both social (racial intolerance) and environmental (painting in harsh weather or just the physical distances to be covered to get to where art could be seen), it can be said that Loper has indeed discovered how to make "real art."

Click here for Mr. Loper's personal website