Edward Hopper House Unveils New Collection of Artist's Early Years, Memorabilia

From the Edward Hopper House: The Edward Hopper House announced today that it will be receiving over 1,000 artifacts and memorabilia of Edward Hopper's family, his early years, and a library of books, articles, papers, and documents from The Arthayer R. Sanborn Hopper Collection Trust. In this newly formed partnership, this rarely-seen collection, to be known as the Sanborn-Hopper Family Archive, was formally announced by Executive Director Jennifer Patton, Ed.D, at an Art Talk with historian Dr. Richard Rabinowitz on July 15 at the Nyack Public Library.

The unique, meticulously preserved collection consists of juvenilia and other materials from the formative years of Hopper's life and includes original letters, drawings from his school years, the intriguing "TC" (Three Commodores) notebooks, his first art "tools" from his first studio in the attic in Nyack, photographs, original newspaper articles, and other items that allow visitors to experience firsthand how Hopper's childhood and home environment shaped his art.

"The Sanborn partnership will preserve the legacy of Hopper and provide deeper insight into Hopper's evolution as an artist, greatly enriching our American heritage," says Patton. "These materials will let us enlarge Hopper's story, inspire our exhibitions, and launch the Edward Hopper Study Center for use by scholars, students, curators and educators. The collection will, in every sense, bring Edward Hopper home to Nyack."

Rabinowitz, President of the American History Workshop, author of the just-published Curating America: Journeys Through Storyscapes of the American Past, and a well-recognized authority on museum education notes, "I don't know anywhere else in America where one can still see so acutely how the shapes, colors, and textures of an artist's home and hometown nurtured the development of one of our nation's great artistic careers. We now can trace the path from Hopper's childhood games and schoolwork to art that expresses his deepest aesthetic impulses."

Portions of the Sanborn-Hopper Family Archive will be available for viewing starting this fall.

EDWARD HOPPER HOUSE, located at 82 North Broadway, Nyack, NY, is the birthplace of artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967) and was his primary residence until 1910. Since 1971 it has been a non-profit with the mission to preserve

Image courtesy of Edward Hopper House