Bernard Harmon

Modern Man, Expressionist Portrait in Red, White, and Blue

1975

"Girl Thinking" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 40" x 30" oil on board portrait of a young woman is painted in a vibrant color palette. The painting is framed in a new, black wood frame and signed "B Harmon" on verso. Figurative expressionism in the style of Alice Neel. Bernard Harmon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1935. Harmon was primarily a portrait painter and a well loved teacher in the Philadelphia area. A graduate of the Philadelphia Museum School and Temples Tyler School of Art, Harmon traveled extensively in Europe and South America. Beloved by many, Harmon taught in the Philadelphia School District for 32 of his 54 years of life. Beginning his career as an art teacher at West Philadelphia High School, in the early 1960s he became one of the district's artists in residence, traveling from school to school to demonstrate for students how an artist works. Returning to the classroom, Harmon joined the art department at Central High School where he taught for 14 years and became an innovator in art curriculum, developing a program offering advanced placement art classes to gifted students. In his final years Harmon became a supervisor, mentoring teachers and overseeing programs in the Philadelphia school systems District #1. During his short life Harmon taught collage preparatory art classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, summer classes at the University of the Arts, and a Saturday program for gifted children at Drexel University. Among Harmon's portraits were commissioned by Philadelphia Jazz organist Jimmy Smith and Mayor Richardson Dilworth. Bernard Harmon was active in promoting African American Artist throughout his life time. He organized many early shows such as the "Afro American Artists 1800 - 1969" at the Museum of the Philadelphia Civic Center in 1969. He was considered a Renaissance man by friends and colleagues for his interests not only in art but music and theater as well. He was familiar and friends with many other African American artists such as Doc Thrash, Selma Burke...

"Upright Bass" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 40" x 34" oil on board group portrait of a musician is painted...

"Seated Figure" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 48" x 35.75" oil on board portrait is painted in energetic and bold brushstrokes, with vi...

"Drums" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 34" x 40" oil on board group portrait of three musicians playing t...

In this piece, I evoke a tender, introspective moment, captured through the interplay of light and shadow in a lush, impressionistic style. The exuberance of the golden yellow dress ...

In this oil painting, I embraced the raw vitality of expressionism to capture the essence of renewal. The figurative approach intertwines with the soft vintage touch, conveying a fin...

In this piece, I sought to capture the ethereal blend of nature and the human spirit. Using oil paints, I layered textures and colors to create a surreal, vintage atmosphere where th...

In this piece, I melded oil paints to captivate the timeless dance of nature with human grace. Inspired by the delicate irises swaying in a serene field, I portrayed a figure harmoni...