Charley Harper was a American Modernist artist from Cincinnati in Ohio. His best known work was his wildlife prints, posters and book illustrations. His subjects were mainly animals with birds featuring prominently.

During his career Harper illustrated many books such as "The Golden Book of Biology" and magazines such as "Ford Times".

Charley Harper referred to his style of art as "minimal realism". By that he was describing the unique way in which he captured the essence of his subjects with as few visual elements as possible. His style simplified complex subjects, but yet they were often arranged in a complex fashion. The end results were often bold, colorful and quite often also whimsical.

In honor of Charley Harper's work, December 8, 2006 was declared "Charley Harper Day" by the mayor of Cincinnati.