She co-authored a biography on the French impressionist Camille Pissarro and was a well-known contemporary art critic.
[2] After a dance-related injury she decided to study art history at Hunter College in New York and earned her bachelor's and master's degree.
In 1976 she earned her PhD in art history from Stanford University, being one of the first graduate students of Linda Nochlin.
[1] In 1981, she collaborated with Ralph E. Shikes on a comprehensive biography of the 19th-century French Impressionist Camille Pissarro.
[2] Harper died at age 81 in Miami, Florida from complications of a rare skin cancer.