The Vibrant World of Edward Loper, Sr. — Wilmington’s Visionary Artist (Speaking of Delaware...)

Experience the art of Edward Loper, Sr., one of Delaware’s most celebrated cultural figures, an artist known for a palette of vibrant colors that would reflect the world around him. He spent the 1940s in Wilmington, painting many iconic Delaware landscapes and cityscapes still recognizable today. After his death in 2011, US Senator Thomas Carper wrote about Loper, "His talent for color broke the mold of his time and his passion for teaching others to see through colors was [uh] really unsurpassed." Loper changed the landscape for Black artists and paved the way for others who came after him.

Want to make your own study of Loper’s work? You can see his paintings today by visiting Journey to Freedom at the Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage.

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“The Vibrant World of Edward Loper Sr. — Wilmington’s Visionary Artist” is part of Speaking of Delaware…, a series of short videos presented by the Delaware Historical Society and produced by Short Order Production House. Videos premiere the first Thursday of every month on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and our website. This series is funded in part by the Longwood Foundation, Delmarva Power, an Exelon Company, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and by a grant from Delaware Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.