Margaret RAPER

1926 - 2017

RAPER, Margaret Weers "Maggie" Margaret "Maggie" Weers Raper, who passed away on April 2, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia, was an artist whose works are in private and corporate collections around the world. Warned by her mother not to study art in college as she might need to get a job, and despite the responsibilities of caring for three children, Mrs. Raper nevertheless found the time and energy to devote to her art. "People are surprised that I'm still working at my age," Mrs. Raper said when she was 87, "Many people give it up because they have physical problems or from lack of interest. But I love my art and I continue to be creative. I don't think I will ever quit." She continued to produce and sell her art up until her final illness. Maggie trained over the years at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and with three noted teachers: Ouida Canaday of Atlanta, Octavio Medellin of Dallas and Rudolph Penn in Chicago. "Ouida was my inspiration," Maggie said, "She told me that I drew better than any of her students and gave me a studio to work in. And she helped me with a new idea -- to start from the middle and work toward the edges. I learned a great deal from her." Mrs. Raper also studied sculpture for seven years, working in bronze, wood and clay and continued to incorporate sculptural elements into her paintings and collages. "The more you look at my work, the more you see," she said. "I never repeat an image, and I'm not afraid to experiment -- I want my work to be unique." Mrs. Raper's work is in the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and she has shown her work in dozens of art shows and galleries. She has had one-person shows at The Atelier, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, Ariel Gallery, Genema Gallery and Columbia Theological Seminary, all in Atlanta; Bascom-Louise Gallery in Highlands, NC; and the Peoria Art Guild in Peoria, Illinois. Her work is included in the corporate collections of Kaiser-Permanente, McKinsey & Company, AllTel Information Services, Doubletree Hotels, Hyatt Regency, American Intercontinental University and United Distributors. Maggie was born May 19, 1926, in Peoria, Illinois, to Leland and Edna Kesler Weers. Her father died when she was three, and the family lost their home and possessions during the Depression. Mrs. Raper, her two sisters and their mother moved in with their maternal grandmother, and the family was supported by Edna Weers' teaching. "Mom was a pioneer," Maggie said, "She got a master's degree at a time when the only work available to them was teaching or being a secretary." In her senior year at Peoria High School, Maggie began dating Charles "Chuck" Raper, when they were 16. She attended McMurray College for Women in Jacksonville, Illinois, where she studied psychology. Maggie and Chuck were married in December, 1947, when he returned from the Navy after World War II. While he studied at the University of Illinois, Maggie performed psychological testing on incoming freshmen. When they moved back to Peoria, she worked as a librarian until they started their family. It wasn't until their youngest child was six that she began her art studies. Her civic activities have included being a juried member, merit member and advanced merit member at the Atlanta Artists Center; and chairwoman and member of the Cherokee Town and Country Club art committee. But, as she put it, "I'm not very active -- Any time I have, I devote to art." Mrs. Raper is survived by her two daughters, Kathleen Norrington (Eric) of Dallas, Texas and Jody Hyland (Per Otto) of London, England; one son, Charles "Chuck" Raper of Oceanside, California; four grandchildren, Alice Norrington Meyers of San Francisco, Chase Norrington of Ft. Worth, Texas and Louise and Emily Hyland of London, England; and two great grandchildren, Georgia and Arthur Meyers of San Francisco. Online condolences may be expressed at www.csog.com.