Currently on View

"Grace de Coeur..." Watercolors by Josephine Nivison Hopper from the Sanborn Collection

April 19 - June 15, 2014
in the Main Gallery
Members' Opening: April 25, 6-8 pm
Curator: Elizabeth Thompson Colleary

Josephine Nivison Hopper (1883-1968) was an established and respected artist in New York City prior to her marriage in 1924 to Edward Hopper (1882-1967), a childless union that would endure for 43 years.  Her paintings were shown in prestigious exhibitions with the most admired European and American Modernists of the day, among them Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Stuart Davis, and Pablo Picasso.

Late in her life she gave the watercolors included in this exhibition to her friend and confidant, Rev. Arthayer Sanborn, for safekeeping and in gratitude for his kindness in caring for her and for Edward toward the end of their lives.  At the time, despite her travails and setbacks as a devoted wife, and by then an overlooked artist, she retained her cheerful persona. Indeed, in looking back on her work, Jo, who, like her husband was a lifelong Francophile, described her works as “sacred relics of a grace de coeur (grace of heart)…they have a certain innocence et noble orgueil (and noble pride).”

As an accomplished artist who eagerly embraced the most current Modernist styles of the day, much more so than her husband did, Jo captured in her vibrant and lyrical watercolors favored objects and sunny views of the scenic locales that she and Edward often painted side by side. They truly express her “grace of heart” and happily, due to the efforts of her friend, Rev. Sanborn, they have come down to us so that Jo’s artistic legacy can now be appreciated, studied, and fully recognized.

Special thanks to the exhibition sponsors: Cynthia Aherne; ARTWILL; Jo and Peter Baer; Kris Burns of Festoon on Hudson; Connie Coker, CNM LM, Integral Women's Wellness; Mary Ekmalian; Janice Enzenbacher; Maria Luisa Boutique; Gretchen Reinheimer Design, LLC; Philip L. Sanborn and The Arthayer R. Sanborn Hopper Collection Trust; Donna Riley; and Jen Laird White.  

Josephine Nivison Hopper: Tree Studies

April 13 - October 19, 2014 
in the Sanborn Gallery
Curated by Elizabeth Thompson Colleary

Early in her career, while studying with American Impressionist Ambrose Webster in Provincetown, MA, Josephine Nivison Hopper began to paint en plein air (outdoors), as the French Impressionists had.  It was a practice she continued throughout her life, often with her husband, Edward, painting by her side.  The Sanborn Collection has preserved an important body of these plein air watercolors, and they are presented in the Sanborn Gallery at the Edward Hopper House from April 19 through October 19, 2014.  

This series of tree studies, with their rich colors and fluid brushwork, show Jo Hopper at her best.  Jo wrote about her painting process as she worked on her tree studies and "bonded" with her subjects, often naming specific trees as she described their attributes and characters.  These ruminations by Jo will provide new insights into her work and her contributions to the focus on process that was so key to the development of American Modernism.

Edward Hopper's Caricatures: At home with Ed and Jo

A portion of this exhibition will remain on view through October 19, 2014
Fifteen caricature drawings by Edward Hopper will be on display at Edward Hopper House Art Center from October 26, 2013 through April 6, 2014.   From the outset of Edward Hopper’s (1882-1967) courtship with his wife, Josephine (Jo) (1883-1968), Hopper created intimate drawings as a way of expressing his innermost feelings to her.  He found verbal communication difficult and chose to share the complex emotions that characterized their two-artist marriage through figurative caricatures that portray the couple in varied contexts.  The drawings, which span decades and often reveal the artist’s wry sense of humor, document Hopper’s efforts to reach out to Jo, his sole model, painting companion, and muse.

The drawings are on loan from the Arthayer R. Sanborn Hopper Collection Trust.  This exhibition is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Bill Batson: Hopper Country

Dates: February 22 – April 30, 2024
Location: The Hopper Hallway Gallery 

Since August 2011, Bill Batson has created over 120 sketches and short essays that profile local people and place of interest, called "Nyack Sketch Log."  Edward Hopper looms large in his Sketch Log archive, appearing as the subject or inspiration for five columns.  Batson's columns chronicle a bevy of other artists, writers and performers who have found their way to the Hudson River Valley village where Hopper spent his formative years.  A rich harvest of brilliant artists including Horton Foote, Carson McCullers and Helen Hayes were drawn to the fertile creative soil of Hopper's Nyack and have been featured in Batson's Nyack Sketch Log. The work assembled in this exhibit, in style and substance, pays homage to the impact of Hopper Country.

Ongoing exhibitions

Early work by Edward Hopper and Hopper memborabilia

Early drawings and paintings, created while Hopper was living in the Nyack home, together with memorabilia, including model boats made by Hopper, paintboxes, and an easel, are presented on an ongoing basis.

A Photographic Journey through Hopper's World by Charles Sternaimolo

Ongoing upstairs at the Edward Hopper House
By searching through Josephine Hopper’s meticulous notes, studying the work of fellow Hopper scholars, checking with local residents and historians, and even walking through an area in search of a “Hopper scene,” photographer Charles Sternaimolo has identified and documented well over 150 places painted by the artist, culminating in a visual comparison through photography of Hopper’s painted locations.