Cathy's Art Diary

Fascinating film  from Exhibition on Screen shown in cinemas on the life and work of Edward Hopper. I'd not been to see one of these documentaries at the cinema before and must admit I went to this one as we'd heard a friend had been interviewed for it. I enjoyed the format and will keep an eye out for new titles, particularly for exhibitions abroad which I can't get to. The film told the story of Hopper's life through his pictures with commentaries by various curators and experts including those who worked for the various Hopper museums in his former homes and studios. It paid particular attention to his relationship with his wife Josephine Nivison, looking at how she nurtured his career but partly at the expense of her own. It was nice that the film included a lot of her work. I'm not sure all the pictures benefited from being shown in such a large format despite the fact it gave them an even more obvious cinematic quality. It showed up some of the rougher p...

Interesting online lecture from Stella Grace Lyons looking at the life and work of Edward Hopper. As usual Stella made good use of a selection of paintings to outline Hoppers life and career. I hadn’t seen his early watercolours before and loved “The Mansard Roof” bought by the Brooklyn Museum in 1923. I’s also not realised what good etching’s he produced or that he had worked as an illustrator for trade magazine. Stella talked about the role of his wife, Jo Nivinson, in his work both as his main model and as the keeper of his art records. She also kept a diary that talks about the pictures and the experience of modelling for him.