Edward Hopper

Exhibited by Marianne Boesky Gallery

Material Watercolor on paper

Dimensions 40.8 x 55.6 cm (16 1/16 x 21 7/8 in); framed: 61.3 x 75.9 x 5.1 cm (24 1/8 x 29 7/8 x 2 in)

Status Vetted

About the Work

Edward Hopper first visited Gloucester on Cape Ann in the summer of 1912, returning again several times throughout the 1920s. While there, fellow artist Josephine Nivison—who Hopper married in 1924—urged him to experiment with watercolor. Working outdoors, Hopper recorded his observations of the coastal town—and the domestic architecture of Cape Ann quickly became a frequent subject of these paintings. “At Gloucester when everyone else would be painting ships and the waterfront,” Hopper said. “I’d just go around looking at the houses. It’s a very solid-looking town. The roofs are very bold, the cornices bolder.”

Enamored, in particular, with the detailed rooflines of the houses found in Gloucester, Hopper depicted them in lively watercolor. In Gloucester Houses (1926 or 1928), Hopper captures two houses in three-quarter view, the rocky, rolling hill in the foreground drawing a stark contrast to the sharp corners of the roofs. He pays particular attention to the interplay of light and shadow on these houses, creating a sense of dynamism on the facade and a sense of narrative at play behind the lit windows.

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