Edward L. Loper Sr.

Loper was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and as a young man visited the Philadelphia Art Museum every Saturday to study the paintings there. He participated in the Works Progress Administration, drawing decorative art objects for the Index of American Design. There he met Walter Pyle, a nephew of illustrator Howard Pyle, who encouraged Loper in his work. Though he would remain largely self-taught, Loper studied at the Barnes Foundation for ten years.

Loper had a passion for teaching and taught at institutions including the Delaware Art Museum and Lincoln University, Pennsylvania. His work is in the collections of the University of Delaware, the Delaware Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Woodmere Art Museum.