Born in 1939 in Philadelphia, Pa., Harry Kramer received a BFA from the Philadelphia College of Art in 1962 and an MFA from Yale University in 1965. In 2013, he received grants from the Robert Lehman Foundation and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. He was also a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1982, two CAPS/New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships, among others.

Harry Kramer first gained public recognition in the 1970’s with solo shows at the Brata Gallery and 55 Mercer Street Gallery, critically acclaimed alternative spaces in New York City during that time. Then in the 80’s his work was highlighted in “Six Painters” at the Hudson River Museum with a catalog essay by the director Peter Langlykke, followed by numerous NYC shows through the past decades including the Greunebaum Gallery, the Charles Cowles Gallery and Ameringer and Yohe Gallery.

The eminent art historian and critic Dore Ashton wrote of Kramer’ work:

“Kramer is, then, a lover of paint and a lover of nature. But it doesn’t stop there. It takes many years to get acquainted with the myriad effects available in the repertory provided by oil paint. Kramer has stayed the course and is now a mature painter thoroughly acquainted with each turn of the brush and every surface possible for the painter who knows how to build, stroke by stroke, from the ground up.

These are paintings that have to be looked at with keen attention, from the ground up, literally. If Kramer is convinced that process is reality, the viewer must engage with the process. In the old days, the notion of delectation was enfolded in esthetics. That notion has been rudely expulsed in recent years. In Kramer’s work it can be retrieved. And should be.”

Kramer’s work is represented in many public and private collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, The Hudson River Museum, the Detroit Institute of Art, The Brooklyn Federal Courthouse, Chase Manhattan Bank and Philip Morris, among others.

Kramer served as Professor of Art, Queens College, City University of New York, and a visiting artist at New York University School of the Arts, the New York Studio School and the Yale School of Art at Norfolk, CT. He lives and works in Lakeville, Connecticut.