Rose Carolyn Harpham (Mrs.
Ferdinand Meyer) died in 1969 after a long career as a painter
in San Antonio and Devine. A student of Jose Arpa, she was
exhibiting with the San Antonio Art League in 1924. She
was one of the first to show her works in the famous Bright
Shawl Gallery in 1926. A member and exhibitor in the San
Antonio Artist’s Guild and Southern States Art League, her work
was chosen for the Davis Wildflower Competition in both 1927 and
1929. She produced many views of San Antonio and the region in
the 1920’s and 1930's and exhibited state wide in competitive
exhibitions. She joined with other local artists and was
part of the Leon Springs Art Group which formed in the early
1930’s to promote and exhibit art by local artists. She was a
life long supporter of art and donated works to benefit fund
raising efforts for the Witte Memorial Museum. She was
heavily involved in the cultural growth of San Antonio, devoting
much of her time to the arts. She often traveled to
California to paint, staying at the family ranch of Bing Crosby,
a family friend, for months at a time. Her paintings of
architectural subjects are important records of early 20th
Century San Antonio.