Angel of Compassion

by artist S.P. Harper

On view August 2025 to May 2026

Angel of Compassion is a series of seven mixed-media paintings featuring images of jewels that were originally owned by Elizabeth Taylor and sold by her estate to benefit the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation after her death. Prior to their auction in 2011, these jewels were displayed on a four stop worldwide tour, including at the Pacific Design Center gallery space across the street from the West Hollywood Library.  

S. P. Harper paints and sculpts abstract geometrics using recycled materials. What begins as refuse is repurposed, transforming base materials into noble objects. By reforming and re-employing, the work fits into eco-centric art (aka neo-materialism) to reduce, reuse and up-cycle. She is inspired by her grandfather, Archibald Picking, who was a diamantaire (diamond cutter) before becoming a conductor for Pacific Electric Railway Company (also known as the Red Cars).

Read the full exhibition didactic here.

Exhibition photos are available here.

An Artists Exhibition Reception took place on October 24, 2025, 7pm. You can see photos here. 

An Artist's talk between S.P. Harper and Art Critic Peter Frank will take place on January 15, 2026, 5-6pm at the West Hollywood Library. Peter Frank in an art critic and former curator. He is known for curating shows at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in the 1970s and 1980s, was the Senior Curator at the Riverside Art Museum,  and an art critic for Angeleno magazine, LA Weekly, and The Village Voice. He is a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post, Art in America, and ARTnews.

For more information on this past exhibit, contact Mike Che, Arts Coordinator.