Ray Harm
Encyclopedia
Ray Harm is an American
artist
, best known for his painting
s of wildlife
, primariliy bird
s. He is also well known for art marketing, generally credited as the co-creator of the limited edition art print market, which supplanted the traditional method where artists sold original works on an individual basis. Limited edition art prints are now the standard method of marketing paintings and similar works to the general public.
Harm was born Ray Auvil in Randolph County, West Virginia
; his father was a concert violin
ist who also was a woodsman
and herbalist
. His name was changed to Harm after his parents divorced and his mother remarried to a man named William Harm. He left the West Virginia in his mid-teens to become a cowboy
in the American West, eventually competing on the rodeo
circuit and also training horses for the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus.
He served in the United States Navy
during World War II
, which allowed him to take advantage of the GI Bill for continuing education. Harm used the opportunity to enroll in art school, and afterwards became a painter. While selling paintings one by one as was the custom in the 1950s, Harm worked in construction and horse training to make ends meet.
In 1961 Harm's work attracted the attention of Wood Hannah, a businessman and art collector from Louisville, Kentucky
. The two men came up with the idea of making high-quality art prints of Harm's paintings, which would be issued in limited print runs. The idea was a great success, and gave birth to a marketing method for art that has brought commercial and financial success to thousands of artists.
In 1963, he was appointed the first H. L. Donovan
Artist-in-residence at the University of Kentucky
.
Harm later wrote a weekly nature column for The Louisville Times, and was a popular speaker and lecturer. Harm was a frequent guest on the radio
call-in show Metz Here, hosted for many years by Milton Metz
on Louisville's WHAS-AM.
In recent years, Harm has become a sharp critic
of artists who copy their works from photographs, either tracing directly over them or projecting an image onto a canvas and then tracing. This practice is now widespread throughout the limited-edition art industry. Harm has prided himself on basing his paintings on his own personal sketches, taken from direct observations of wildlife. On occasion, Harm says he has used museum
models of wildlife to get certain details correct, but otherwise his paintings come directly from his own work.
Harm closed production of prints from his major collection around the end of the 1990s, with 195 pieces included in that collection. He still does occasional works as fund-raisers for various organizations. Harm and his wife, Cathy, eventually left Kentucky
and settled on a ranch in Arizona
, where he continues to work today. His son, Ray Harm Jr. (better known as "Hap"), who still lives in Kentucky, sells prints from original works by his father that were not a part of the original major collection.
An archive of Harm's signed prints, newspaper clippings, field notes, black and white photographs, exhibition catalogs, gallery announcements and 53 pieces of original correspondence is housed at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, best known for his painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s of wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
, primariliy bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s. He is also well known for art marketing, generally credited as the co-creator of the limited edition art print market, which supplanted the traditional method where artists sold original works on an individual basis. Limited edition art prints are now the standard method of marketing paintings and similar works to the general public.
Harm was born Ray Auvil in Randolph County, West Virginia
Randolph County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,262 people, 11,072 households, and 7,661 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 13,478 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
; his father was a concert violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist who also was a woodsman
Woodsman
-History:Woodsmen or lumberjack competitions have their roots in competitions that took place in logging camps among loggers. As loggers were paid for piece work, the ability to perform a specific task more quickly, or with a degree of showmanship, was something to be admired...
and herbalist
Herbalist
An herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
. His name was changed to Harm after his parents divorced and his mother remarried to a man named William Harm. He left the West Virginia in his mid-teens to become a cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
in the American West, eventually competing on the rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
circuit and also training horses for the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus.
He served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, which allowed him to take advantage of the GI Bill for continuing education. Harm used the opportunity to enroll in art school, and afterwards became a painter. While selling paintings one by one as was the custom in the 1950s, Harm worked in construction and horse training to make ends meet.
In 1961 Harm's work attracted the attention of Wood Hannah, a businessman and art collector from Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. The two men came up with the idea of making high-quality art prints of Harm's paintings, which would be issued in limited print runs. The idea was a great success, and gave birth to a marketing method for art that has brought commercial and financial success to thousands of artists.
In 1963, he was appointed the first H. L. Donovan
Herman Lee Donovan
Herman Lee Donovan was an American educator and college administrator who served as the fourth president of the University of Kentucky from 1941-1956. During this period, the University of Kentucky faced many challenges including the desegregation of both the graduate and undergraduate divisions,...
Artist-in-residence at the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
.
Harm later wrote a weekly nature column for The Louisville Times, and was a popular speaker and lecturer. Harm was a frequent guest on the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
call-in show Metz Here, hosted for many years by Milton Metz
Milton Metz
Milton Metz is a retired American radio and television personality in Louisville, Kentucky. He still does commercial work for local radio and television stations....
on Louisville's WHAS-AM.
In recent years, Harm has become a sharp critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
of artists who copy their works from photographs, either tracing directly over them or projecting an image onto a canvas and then tracing. This practice is now widespread throughout the limited-edition art industry. Harm has prided himself on basing his paintings on his own personal sketches, taken from direct observations of wildlife. On occasion, Harm says he has used museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
models of wildlife to get certain details correct, but otherwise his paintings come directly from his own work.
Harm closed production of prints from his major collection around the end of the 1990s, with 195 pieces included in that collection. He still does occasional works as fund-raisers for various organizations. Harm and his wife, Cathy, eventually left Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and settled on a ranch in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, where he continues to work today. His son, Ray Harm Jr. (better known as "Hap"), who still lives in Kentucky, sells prints from original works by his father that were not a part of the original major collection.
An archive of Harm's signed prints, newspaper clippings, field notes, black and white photographs, exhibition catalogs, gallery announcements and 53 pieces of original correspondence is housed at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville.
Honors
- Named as one of the 10 most influential artists of the century by Decor Magazine.
- Named Kentucky's Man of the Year in 1964.
- Commissioned to paint a family of bald eagleBald EagleThe Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s by PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
in 1962.