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Hopper Drawing

May 23–Oct 6, 2013 

Edward Hopper (1882–1967), Study for Nighthawks, 1941 or 1942. Fabricated chalk and charcoal on paper; 11 1/8 x 15 in. (28.3 x 38.1 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase and gift of Josephine N. Hopper by exchange  2011.65
 

Edward Hopper (1882–1967), Study for Nighthawks, 1941 or 1942. Fabricated chalk and charcoal on paper; 11 1/8 × 15 in. (28.3 × 38.1 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase and gift of Josephine N. Hopper by exchange  2011.65

Hopper Drawing is the first major museum exhibition to focus on the drawings and creative process of Edward Hopper (1882–1967). More than anything else, Hopper’s drawings reveal the continually evolving relationship between observation and invention in the artist’s work, and his abiding interest in the spaces and motifs—the street, the movie theatre, the office, the bedroom, the road—that he would return to throughout his career as an artist. This exhibition showcases the Whitney’s unparalleled collection of Hopper’s work, which includes over 2,500 drawings bequeathed to the museum by his widow Josephine Hopper, many of which have never before been exhibited or researched. The exhibition will survey Hopper’s significant and underappreciated achievements as a draftsman, and will pair many of his greatest oil paintings, including Early Sunday Morning (1930), New York Movie (1939), Office at Night (1940) and Nighthawks (1942), with their preparatory drawings and related works. This exhibition also features groundbreaking archival research into the buildings, spaces and urban environments that inspired his work.

Hopper Drawing is organized by Carter E. Foster, Steven and Ann Ames Curator of Drawing.

Works from the Exhibition

Edward Hopper (1882–1967),
Self-Portrait and Hand Studies, c. 1900. Pen and ink and graphite pencil on paper, 7 7/8 × 4 15/16 in. (20 × 12.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest  70.1559.28
Edward Hopper (1882–1967),
Self-Portrait, 1945. Fabricated chalk and charcoal on paper, 22 × 14 15/16 in. (55.9 × 37.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest  70.287
Edward Hopper (1882–1967),
Female Nude on Model’s Platform, c. 1900–03. Charcoal on paper, 19 1/16 × 12 3/8 in. (48.4 × 31.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest  70.1566.118
Edward Hopper (1882–1967),
Standing Female Nude by Window (Sketch for Etching), 1915–18. Graphite pencil on paper, 14 15/16 × 10 1/16 in. (37.9 × 25.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest  70.831
Edward Hopper (1882–1967),
Study for East Side Interior (recto), 1922. Fabricated chalk and charcoal on paper, 9 × 11 1/2 in. (22.9 × 29.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest  70.342a–b
Edward Hopper (1882–1967),
The Henry Ford on the Ways, Gloucester, 1923. Charcoal on paper, 12 × 17 15/16 in. (30.5 × 45.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest  70.837
Edward Hopper (1882–1967),
Victorian House on a Wooded Street, c. 1923–25. Fabricated chalk on paper, 16 × 17 1/2 in. (40.6 × 44.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest  70.901
Edward Hopper (1882–1967),
Study for Summertime, 1943. Fabricated chalk and graphite pencil on paper, 8 3/8 × 10 15/16 in. (21.3 × 27.8 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest  70.458
Edward Hopper (1882–1967),
Study for Stairway, 1949. Fabricated chalk and graphite pencil on paper, 12 3/16 × 19 1/4 in. (31 × 48.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest  70.849
Edward Hopper (1882–1967), Couple Drinking, 1906–07. Transparent and opaque watercolor, graphite pencil, and fabricated chalk on paper, 13 1/2 × 19 7/8 in. (34.3 × 50.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest  70.1340
Edward Hopper (1882–1967), Soir Bleu, 1914. Oil on canvas, Overall: 36 × 72 in. (91.4 × 182.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest 70.1208. © Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper, licensed by the Whitney Museum of American Art. © Photograph by Sheldan C. Collins
Edward Hopper (1882–1967), Early Sunday Morning, 1930. Oil on canvas, 35 3/16 × 60 1/4 in. (89.4 × 153 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney  31.426. © Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper, licensed by the Whitney Museum of American Art. Digital image © Whitney Museum of American Art
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Hopper Drawing
by Carter E. Foster

Edward Hopper (1882–1967) is recognized as one of the greatest American artists of the twentieth century. The influence of his distinctive style extends beyond painting into popular culture, photography, and film. This important publication is the first comprehensive exploration of Hopper’s drawings and working methods, which are the foundation of the artist’s iconic works such as Early Sunday Morning (1930) and Nighthawks (1942).

Contributors:
Daniel S. Palmer
Nicholas Robbins
Kimia Shahi
Mark W. Turner

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In the News

“Where’s That Coffee Shop? The multiple locations of Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, revealed.”
New York Magazine

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Significant support for this exhibition is provided by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Dietrich Foundation, The Selz Foundation, Barney A. Ebsworth, Steve Martin and Anne Stringfield, The Robert Lehman Foundation, Jane Carroll, Aaron I. Fleischman and Lin Lougheed, Arlene and Robert Kogod, and an anonymous donor. 

This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities.