ARTS | WESTCHESTER; Celebrating Hopper, A Favorite Son
By SUSAN HODARA
Published: June 12, 2011
FOR the first time in nearly three decades, the Edward Hopper House Art Center, in Hopper's childhood home here, has mounted an exhibition featuring the work of its former resident.
''Edward Hopper, Prelude: The Nyack Years'' presents 18 paintings and drawings, all but one created while Hopper lived in the house, from 1882, the year of his birth, until 1910, when he moved to Greenwich Village -- and all chosen as evidence that the singular vision permeating Hopper's development and the themes dominating his masterworks took root while he lived in Nyack.
''I knew the seeds were sown here,'' said Elizabeth Thompson Colleary, the Hopper scholar who curated ''Prelude.''
And they are there for all to see -- in the horizontal streak of waning light in ''Old Ice Pond at Nyack,'' painted in 1897 when Hopper was 15; in the architectural angularity in his undated charcoal, ''Attic at Nyack''; in the play of sunshine in his 1907 ''Park Benches and Trees''; and in the brooding woman slumped on the floor in ''Summer Interior,'' from 1909.
Standing in front of a very early ink drawing of a barefoot child gazing out at an expanse of water, Ms. Colleary said, ''The little boy looking out, reflective, pondering, inviting us to share his view -- that's Hopper for the rest of his life.''
It is a life that is being honored with a medley of Hopper-related activities in conjunction with ''Prelude,'' all part of the Year of Hopper, initiated by the art center to commemorate its 40th anniversary.
The celebration began with an upgrade to the center to accommodate the displayed works, which are on loan from the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Arthayer R. Sanborn Hopper Collection Trust. (Before the upgrade, the center's security systems did not meet current standards to protect a Hopper original.) This month, the center will host ''Summer Interior: A Writing Workshop With Karen Finley,'' using Hopper's ''Summer Interior'' as inspiration.
Exhibitions at the Historical Society of the Nyacks and the Orangetown Historical Museum and Archives examine the Hopper family's longstanding connections to the region. And walks around Nyack reveal many sites that provided inspiration for Hopper. Hopper House recently printed a self-guided tour showing nine such locations, and guided tours are being offered by Friends of the Nyacks during the run of ''Prelude.''
People embarking on those tours might come across art installations in storefronts reminiscent of Hopper scenes or mobs of people suddenly assuming Hopperesque poses. All are part of the first Hopper Happens Festival, which includes street theater, film screenings and ''Pop-Up Projections,'' which will display familiar Hopper images on local architecture. The festival will be an annual event.
Taking official steps to memorialize its native son, the Village of Nyack designated July 22, 2011, Edward Hopper Day, and those traveling along North Broadway, where Hopper spent his youth, will find themselves on Edward Hopper Way. Both honors were inspired by this special year, but the village is considering making them as permanent as the artistic legacy left by their namesake.
''Edward Hopper, Prelude: The Nyack Years'' runs through July 17 at the Edward Hopper House Art Center, 82 North Broadway, Nyack, N.Y. Open Tuesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Advance ticket purchase recommended; some tickets will be available at the door. ''Summer Interior: A Writing Workshop With Karen Finley'' will be held at the center on June 18 and 25; $85 for the two sessions; registration required. For more information: (845) 358-0774 or edwardhopperhouse.org.
FRIENDS OF THE NYACKS
Guided walking tours are on Saturdays through July 16, 12:45 to 2 p.m.; $5. Register at friendsofthenyacks.org.
HOPPER HAPPENS FESTIVAL
''Pop-Up Projections'' are on June 18, 9:30 p.m., on Main Street in Nyack, and on June 19, 9:30 p.m., at Hopper House. For a full schedule of activities through July 17, including street theater times and three Hopper-related films, go to hopperhappens.org.
PHOTO: 'SUMMER INTERIOR': Created by Edward Hopper in Nyack, N.Y. (PHOTOGRAPH BY WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, HEIRS OF JOSEPHINE N. HOPPER)