Although Donald Clapper grew up in the Northeast, home of many great American Still Life and Trompe l’Oeil Masters, this coincidence did not influence his attraction to the world of art. After graduating from the University of Colorado with a B.A. Degree in 1983, Clapper began a successful real estate career in Florida.

Unbeknownst to him, an unplanned stop to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia in the late 1980’s became the momentum that drew him to Trompe l’Oeil and Classic Realism after he saw an original William Harnett painting. He marveled at Harnett’s ability to create both unbelievable detail and illusionary dimension and began a personal study on the Old Masters Dutch still life painters and shortly thereafter, focused on the American Trompe l’Oeil School of painters of the late 1800’s, specifically, William M. Harnett, John Haberle and John Peto.

Clapper’s painting developed during the 1980-90’s while he lived and worked in Gainesville, Florida at which time he also married and started a family. Due to the busyness of the daytime, he pursued his artwork during the quiet evening and predawn hours. It was during this season, he developed his own techniques and proficiency as he applied the Old Masters’ methods of indirect lighting, shadowing, glazing and multi dimensional affects to the canvas.

After a period of painting still life’s, Clapper completed Tribute to William Harnett, a trompe l’oeil that not only pays homage to his first “silent mentor” what's more, it eludes the viewer to believe it may have been painted from the studio of none other than John Peto, Harnett’s student and friend.

In 1994, he relocated to Arizona where he still abides and works in his Scottsdale studio. He scope is broad but he always stays in the field of realism whether the subject be still life, trompe l'oeil or his new "Dramatic Realism" figure paintings.

Clapper’s work has received national as well as regional recognition. He has received numerous articles in such publications as International Artist Magazine, American Art Review and Art News. His award winning oil paintings are currently available at the Vanier Gallery in the downtown art district of Scottsdale and the Eleanor Ettinger Gallery in New York City. His work has been featured in many museums across the country including The Phoenix Art Museum, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Tempe Center for the Arts, The Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin and The Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In April of 2002, Clapper co-founded the Trompe l’Oeil Society of Artists, an exclusive group of today’s finest artists dedicated to the genre of trompe l’oeil. The group was formed for the purpose of promoting and advancing the visibility of trompe l’oeil on a national level. In a short two years, the Society has organized major Gallery shows in the major art markets of New York City, Santa Fe and Scottsdale. In 2004, he co-founder the International Guild of Realism, a juried member only group that now has over 200 professional realists from around the world

EXHIBITIONS & GALLERIES ( past and present )

Manitou Galleries, Santa Fe, NM.
Eleanor Ettinger Gallery; New York City
Klaudia Mar Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.

SHOWS, COMPETITIONS & AWARDS

Museum Exhibitions Smith Kramer Fine Arts, Kansas City Twelve City National REALISM GUILD Travelling Museum Tour January, 2008 through July 2011

Museum Exhibition Tempe Center for the Arts, Tempe, Arizona May 3, 2008 through August 2 2008

Museum Exhibitions Smith Kramer Fine Arts, Kansas City Twelve City National Trompe l’Oeil Museum Tour
January, 2005 through July 2007

Museum Exhibition Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach, Florida Trompe l’Oeil Museum Exhibition
February 1, 2007 through May 6, 2007

Museum Exhibition Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma Trompe l’Oeil Museum Exhibition
October 2, 2004 through November 15, 2004

Museum Exhibition The Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico National Juried Art Exhibition
June 6, 2003 through August 29, 2003

Museum Exhibition The Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona March 10, 2003 through June 15

Museum Exhibition The Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin April 5, 2003 through June 1, 2003


PUBLICATIONS

Art and Antiques Magazine Six page article - May 2009

American Art Collector Six page article – January 2008

Art News ` New York Show Review – June 2003

American Art Review Six page article – April 2003

International Artist Magazine Seven page feature article – August 2002

AFFILIATIONS

Trompe l’Oeil Society of Artists - President and Co-founder International Guild of Realism - Founding Charter Member The American Society of Classical Realism, Member