The Trees, Early Afternoon, France, ca. 1905, Oil on canvas, 20 ? 26 in. (50. 8 ? 66 cm), Paintings, William A. Harper (American (born Canada), Cayuga 1873?1910 Mexico City), This rare work by the African American landscape painter William A. Harper depicts a bucolic scene in the French countryside. Canadian-born and Chicago-trained, Harper also studied informally in Paris with Henry Ossawa Tanner, the leading African American expatriate of his generation