[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 165 (Tuesday, November 1, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S7001]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERING EDWARD L. LOPER, SR.

 Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I would like to set aside a moment 
to reflect on the life of artist and educator Edward L. Loper, Sr. From 
the time he started painting at age three until his death at age 95, 
the Wilmington, DE native known as Ed inspired many to see the world 
differently through his art. He was a truly gifted man who dedicated 
his life to his craft and educating the next generation of painters.
  Ed Loper was born on April 7, 1916, in Wilmington, DE. As a child, 
his creativity came out when he picked up a brush and painted the 
objects and pictures around him. As a young adult, he honed his craft 
by going to the Philadelphia Art Museum every Saturday to study the 
paintings housed there, examining the brush strokes and techniques of 
the great painters that came before him.
  He graduated in 1934 from Howard High School where he had been an 
All-State football and basketball player. Later, it was a chance 
encounter with Albert Barnes, an entrepreneur and art collector from 
Philadelphia, that helped him develop his painting style. Barnes 
invited him to join classes at his museum, but Loper could not afford 
to do so at the time. Years later, Loper took advantage of this 
opportunity, attending classes there for 10 years.
  He made his love for painting into his profession and worked at the 
Works Progress Administration as a painter. In the beginning of his 
career, Ed faced discrimination because he was a black artist in a 
segregated society, but his work ultimately prevailed beyond society's 
prejudices. In 1937, he was the first black artist to have a painting 
accepted to a juried show at the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, 
now the Delaware Art Museum.
  His paintings focused on landscapes, still life, and portraits, and 
he is known for his use of vibrant and rich colors to create complex 
scenes. He gave visual meaning to the world he knew: city streets, 
tenements, railroad trestles, marshes, coal yards and pool rooms.
  Ed turned to a career in art education and first shared his passion 
for painting with his students at Delaware's Ferris School. Then, in 
1942, he began to teach at the Allied Kid Company. He also taught at 
the Jewish Community Center, the Delaware Art Museum, Lincoln 
University, the Delaware College of Art and Design, and at his own 
studio in his later years. Some of his students studied with him for 
decades.
  He was married to Janet Neville-Loper who resides in Wilmington. His 
son, Edward Loper Jr., is also a painter. He was also the father to 
Kenneth Loper, Tina Sturgis and the late Jean Washington and Mary 
Brower. One of the last things Ed painted was the door to their 
kitchen, where he illustrated some of their travels to China and 
Europe.
  Ed's talent for color broke the mold of his time, and his passion for 
teaching others to see through color was unsurpassed. He changed the 
landscape for black artists and paved the way for others who came after 
him. He leaves us with the lasting legacy of his work, which currently 
can be seen in the major permanent collections of the Philadelphia Art 
Museum; the Delaware Art Museum; the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, 
DC; Howard University; the Museum of African American Art in Tampa, FL; 
among others. Today I commemorate Edward L. Loper, Sr., his life and 
his outstanding artistic legacy. It was truly a privilege to know him, 
to have been one of his neighbors for a time, and to be the proud owner 
of one of his extraordinary paintings.
 Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I wish to honor the work of a 
distinguished Delawarean who, though known for his paintings, will long 
be remembered for a contribution to our State that extends much farther 
than the reach of his brush.
  Edward J. Loper, Sr., saw the world a little differently than the 
rest of us, and he spent his lifetime trying to let us in on the 
secret. He had such a rich appreciation of color that he was once 
described as the ``Prophet of Color.'' He was a great talent and a 
great teacher. He captured the beauty and vibrancy of Delaware with 
memorable style, bold brushwork and an engaging palette.
  One of his paintings--a scene from the Wawaset Park neighborhood of 
Wilmington--hangs in my office. It perfectly captures the vivid 
contrast in color and creative use of light for which he has become so 
well known. It tells the story of a bright fall day, subtly emphasizing 
the reds and yellows of the fall foliage to innocently capture the 
heightened visuals of the season.
  That he was an African American defined his struggle but not his art. 
He painted landscapes, street scenes and still lifes, and always with 
oil paints. He didn't like being confined to a studio, and would insist 
on painting his subjects in person.
  Once, in his youth, he won a painting competition and proudly showed 
up to the ceremony to collect his award. It turned out, he was the 
first African American to have won the award and those in the room were 
aghast. Most wouldn't shake his hand. It wasn't the first time Ed Loper 
had been stung by discrimination, nor would it be the last.
  Though Ed first picked up a brush at age 3, it was when he went to 
work at a division of the Works Progress Administration during the 
Great Depression that he really learned to paint. He was later hired by 
Jeannette Eckman, who was in charge of the Federal Arts Project, and 
much of his artwork would go on to be housed in the National Gallery of 
Art in Washington, D.C. He couldn't be tied down to any one particular 
style and a wide range of artists, including Van Gogh, Van Ruisdael, 
Corot, El Greco, Cezanne, Picasso, Pollock, Tintoretto, Titian, and 
Veronese, are said to have inspired him.
  Loper once said, ``Once you learn to see as an artist, the world will 
never look the same again.'' For 60 years, he taught hundreds of 
students to see the world differently. He had a reputation for being 
tough on his students, but each one earned a greater appreciation for 
that which Loper pursued his entire life: ``real art.''
  He leaves behind a great legacy, not only in the works that adorn the 
walls of homes and galleries around the world, but in the constellation 
of artists he nurtured. He will be greatly missed by his family and the 
community he called ``home.''

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