De Hirsh Margules, Mother Ann Lighthouse, Eastern Point, Gloucester, 1946. Gouache on paper. Gift of Jean M. Horblit, 2002. [Acc. #2002.004.002]
Antiques And The Arts Weekly: Edward Hopper & Cape Ann: Illuminating An American Landscape
GLOUCESTER, MASS. — It was on a rainy day in October that Elliot Bostwick Davis, PhD, and her longtime friend and colleague, Cape Ann Museum’s director, Oliver Barker, retraced the routes Edward Hopper (American, 1882-1967) had painted during his summers on Cape Ann. The two had begun to think about how they might celebrate the 100th anniversary of Hopper’s formative summer there. Many of the homes that Hopper immortalized are still found on Middle, Washington and Prospect streets, and the city itself was about to mark its Quadricentennial.
Davis said recently that she was searching for a hook for the exhibition and found it in the sea of unanswered questions about Josephine Verstille Nivison (American, 1883-1968), the artist who became Hopper’s love interest and later his longtime wife, muse and model. As it turned out, Nivison is the unsung hero in this chapter of the Hopper story, and “Edward Hopper & Cape Ann: Illuminating an American Landscape,” on view at the Cape Ann Museum through October 16, should go a long way toward correcting the record. She played a crucial role in Hopper’s artistic development at this time of his life — and her connections in the New York City art world soon opened doors for him.
Edward Hopper & Cape Ann: Illuminating An American Landscape – Antiques And The Arts Weekly
