2011 To Be the Year of Hopper

Whether you are a local resident or visitor from out of town, the Edward Hopper House Art Center provides an intimate portal into one of America's foremost twentieth-century realists.

And visitors come from farther than you'd think.

"Edward Hopper enthusiasts from as far away as Europe, Australia and Japan have visited the gallery and boyhood home of Hopper," said Carole Perry, Executive Director of the Hopper House Art Center.

For the unaware or uninitiated, the Hopper House is perched on top of the hill on Broadway with a clear view of the Hudson river. Hopper's birthplace and childhood home was build in 1858 by the artist's grandfather, and was occupied by the Hopper family for 107 years.

Hopper (1882-1967) graduated from Nyack High School in 1899 and eventually moved to Manhattan and spent his summers in South Truro in Cape Cod with his wife Josephine. Hopper, his wife and his sister Marion (who never married and lived in the family home all her life) are all buried in a family plot in Nyack's Oak Hill Cemetery, overlooking the Hudson.

Following Hopper's death, the house fell into disrepair and was slated to be demolished—until a group of local citizen's raised funds to purchase and restore the house. In 1971, the Edward Hopper House Landmark Preservation Foundation (now the Edward Hopper House Art Center) was formed, and in 2000 The Hopper House received the distinction of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Now, the historic home is approaching another important date—it's 40 year anniversary. To commemorate the four decades of history, 2011 is being declared "The Year of Edward Hopper" Festivities will include a gala opening (at a yet to be disclosed village location), exhibitions and events to celebrate Hopper and the influence that Nyack had on his life and his art.

"When you walk through the house you get a feel of the influences that Hopper had with the play of light in various rooms, local architecture, the Hudson River and the surrounding village," Perry said, linking his art to his home surroundings.

The highlight of the year-long celebration will be the exhibition, set to run from May through July and titled "Edward Hopper, Prelude: the Nyack Years." The exhibition will focus on Hopper's early work—created while he was living in the Nyack home—and include paintings, drawings, watercolors and memorabilia. The selected works reflect how the artistic foundation for many of Hopper's later masterworks were established during his early years in the village.

The work, borrowed from the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Arthayer R. Sanborn Collection, will also display some drawings that have never before been exhibited.

"We have been presented with an opportunity to exhibit original Hopper's and to propel our community art center to a new level," Perry explained. "For the show we have been very fortunate to get in-kind donations for a new, state-of-the-art security system and a climate controlled air conditioner and there will be a new, dedicated Hopper gallery."

In addition to the exhibition, both the annual members' show and Small Matters of Great Importance will focus on Hopper-like work. There will also be a Hopper-esque light photography show.

Hopper House events—at the historic home and other venues in Nyack—will continue over the course of 2011.

"We see this as a collaboration with the residents and businesses of Nyack," Perry said. "There will be many ways for people to participate in the Hopper festivities including poetry readings, music, a panel discussion and a walking tour of local sites that served as subjects of some of Hopper's late works and more. The committee is planning to meet with representatives from the Nyack School system, in addition to local private schools, to brainstorm ways that the students and schools can participate."

So, the next time you're walking around Nyack and take a look at the Hudson River or Pretty Penny, remember: a great artist and Nyack resident once laid his eyes upon those same locations and captured them for the world to view.