“The Unknown Hopper: Edward Hopper as Illustrator” at The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts from June 7 through October 26.
Special Exhibition To Focus on Little-Known Period of The Realist Master’s Career
More than one hundred years ago, Norman Rockwell was 20 years old and fresh out of art school. The 1913 New York Armory Show had introduced Europe’s avant-garde artists to America in the biggest art show ever, standing the art world on its head as 90,000 visitors encountered modern art for the first time. Edward Hopper’s 1911 painting, “Sailing” made it into that show, a beacon for the artist who had been working as an illustrator for 12 years but struggled to break free of the commercial constraints of a profession he did not enjoy. In contrast, young Rockwell yearned for success in the illustration field, and by 1916 had landed his first cover commission for “The Saturday Evening Post.”
In December 2013, artwork by Norman Rockwell and Edward Hopper set the all-time sales records for American paintings at auction, confirming the enduring popularity of these two artists from the twentieth century.
This summer, Norman Rockwell Museum will present the early work of these two remarkable artists side by side, offering a rare glimpse into their formative years before they embarked on divergent paths as painters. “The Unknown Hopper: Edward Hopper as Illustrator” will be on view at Norman Rockwell Museum from June 7 through October 26, 2014.
“Like Norman Rockwell, Edward Hopper had an obvious gift for narrative painting,” notes Norman Rockwell Museum Director/CEO Laurie Norton Moffatt. “Both artists were extraordinarily adept at storytelling and depicting light. As a Museum dedicated to the study of American illustration art, we are happy to showcase this little-known aspect of Hopper’s career.”
“Many noted American modernists have successfully traversed the worlds of fine art and illustration, embracing innovation while satisfying, in unique and personal ways, the needs and wants of a broad popular audience,” notes exhibition curator Stephanie Plunkett. “The Unknown Hopper” will offer a unique look at attitudes toward art and the crosscurrents of contemporary commercial society during the early to mid-twentieth century.”
“The Unknown Hopper” will present a comprehensive study of Edward Hopper’s nearly 20- year illustration career, featuring more than 50 original drawings and paintings by Hopper. These include important works from the Whitney Museum of American Art, through a bequest from the artist’s wife, Josephine N. Hopper; New Britain Museum of American Art; Mead Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and other collections.
Also included in this remarkable exhibit are original paintings and illustrations by Hopper’s fellow students and teachers, among them, C. Coles Phillips, John Sloan, and Robert Henri, establishing an artistic and historic context for his 20-year illustration career, which began in Phillip’s New York agency in 1906.
The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring commentary by Gail Levin, Distinguished Professor of Art History, American Studies, and Women’s Studies at The Graduate Center and Baruch College of the City University of New York. The acknowledged authority on Edward Hopper, she is the author of many books including a four-volume catalogue raisonné (1995), “Edward Hopper as Illustrator” (1979), and “Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography” (1995), which appeared in a second expanded edition in 2007. Dr. Levin will speak about her biography of Edward Hopper during a lecture at Norman Rockwell Museum on Thursday, July 17, at 5:30 p.m.
“The Unknown Hopper: Edward Hopper as Illustrator” is made possible, in part, through generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and Elayne P. Bernstein Fund at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.