The Cape Cod Museum of Art will present “Gail Levin: Photographs Hopper’s Places & Cape Cod Connections” from June 30 to August 5.
Levin is a world-renowned Edward Hopper (1882‱967) scholar, and was the first curator of the Hopper collection at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She has written several books about him, including Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography and Hopper’s Places .
“New houses now crowd the once spare landscapes Hopper knew, blocking vistas,” said Levin. “Still, we can rejoice that the Cape has kept its character and that some of the places Hopper painted remain intact.”
Soon after Hopper married artist Josephine Nivison, they began spending summers in South Truro and built their own home there. Hopper painted the world he saw and so he painted many of the homes on the Outer Cape.
In 1976, Levin set herself a conceptual art project to locate and photograph the sites painted by Hopper. The photographs in this exhibition are some of those included in that project which became, in 1985, the book Hopper’s Places .
While Levin was searching for the sites Hopper painted on Cape Cod, she had many conversations with Hopper’s friend, artist Raphael Soyer, who was living in Provincetown. During their conversations, Soyer painted a portrait of Levin, a photo of which is also included in this show.
Two lectures are scheduled during the run of the show. On Sunday, July 15, at 2 pm, art historian Al Kochka will present “Edward Hopper: Inside †Outside,” and talk about Hopper’s varied approaches regarding “darkness and light.” This includes his “restaurant series.” The lecture will include slides, Hopper’s letters and personal notes.
On Saturday, July 28, at 3 pm, in the lecture “Finding Hopper’s Places,” Levin will share some of her extensive knowledge of Hopper, the artist and the man and her search for the places he painted. Tickets are $10 for CCMA members; $15 for nonmembers. Reservations can be made online at www.ccmoa.org or by calling 508-385-4477, extension 15.
Cape Cod Museum of Art is at 60 Hope Lane.
