Josephine Hopper facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Josephine Hopper
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Robert Henri – The Art Student (Miss Josephine Nivison)
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Josephine Nivison
March 18, 1883 New York, New York
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| Died | March 6, 1968 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Normal College of the City of New York |
| Known for | Painting |
| Spouse(s) |
Edward Hopper
(m. 1924–1967) |
| Awards | Huntington Hartford Foundation fellowship (1957) |
Josephine Hopper (born Josephine Verstille Nivison; often called Jo Hopper) was an American painter. She was born on March 18, 1883, and passed away on March 6, 1968. Today, she is most famous as the wife of Edward Hopper, another well-known artist. They married in 1924.
Contents
About Josephine Hopper's Life
Early Life and Education
Jo Hopper was born in Manhattan, New York City. Her family was not wealthy. Her father, Eldorado Nivison, was a music teacher and pianist. Her mother was Mary Ann McGrath. Jo was the second child, but her older sibling died young. Her younger brother, Charles, was born in 1884. Jo later said her father wasn't very good at being a dad, and family life was often difficult.
The Nivison family moved often, but always stayed in New York City. Even though her father made things hard at home, he also encouraged Jo's interest in art, dance, and the French language.
In 1900, Jo started attending the Normal College of the City of New York. This school was free and trained young women to become teachers. She earned her degree in 1904. While in college, she began drawing and acting in plays. After graduating, she decided to study art and try to become an artist.
Becoming an Artist and Teacher
In late 1905, Jo met the artist Robert Henri at the New York School of Art. He soon asked her to pose for a painting called The Art Student (1906). In February 1906, Jo started her career as a public school teacher. For the next ten years, she taught to earn a living. However, she never stopped making art. She stayed in touch with Henri and many other artists. In 1907, she traveled to Europe with Henri and some of his students. By 1915, she also joined the Washington Square Players as an actress. During the summers, she often visited different art colonies in New England.
Challenges and New Beginnings
By 1918, Jo wanted a change. She tried to get a job with the Red Cross to go abroad again, as World War I was still happening. She signed up to do hospital work overseas. Jo took a break from her teaching job in New York City and left in late 1918. However, she returned in January 1919 because she became sick with bronchitis.
She was sent home by the army doctor in June. She then found out she had lost her teaching job. With no money or home, an old church helper at the Church of the Ascension helped her find a temporary place to stay. It took a year, but Jo eventually won the right to get another job from the Board of Education. After that, she continued teaching and working on her art.
Marriage to Edward Hopper
Jo first met her future husband, Edward Hopper, in art school. They met again in 1914 in Ogunquit, where they were staying in the same boarding house. However, their friendship really began some years later. Their relationship grew much closer in the summer of 1923. They were both living in an art colony on Gloucester at the time.
After about a year of getting to know each other, they married on July 9, 1924. They stayed together until Edward Hopper's death in 1967. Jo became the model for the people in most of her husband's paintings after 1924. Edward Hopper painted only one oil painting of his wife, called Jo Painting (1936). But he often made watercolors, drawings, and funny pictures of her.
Throughout her married life, Jo kept many diaries. These diaries tell stories about her life with Edward and how he created his art.
Later Years and Legacy
After their marriage, Edward Hopper's art career became very successful. His fame continued to grow. However, Jo's own art career slowed down after the 1920s. She did take part in a few group art shows. The biggest one was in 1958 at the Greenwich Gallery. But her work didn't get much positive attention.
After her husband died in 1967, Jo gave all of her art, and all of her husband's art, to the Whitney Museum of American Art. Sadly, the museum got rid of most of her work. They have not shown any of it since her death in 1968. Only a few of her paintings still exist today. A few more are known from photographs Jo took of them.
Josephine Hopper's Influence on Edward Hopper
As Edward Hopper's wife and partner for over 40 years, Jo influenced his art in many ways. One important way was that she inspired him to try watercolor painting. This happened in the summer of 1923.
Some of Jo's paintings show things that later became important in her husband's art. For example, her watercolor Shacks (1923) shows two houses behind a dead tree. This is similar to many of Edward Hopper's later works. Jo's watercolor Movie Theater—Gloucester (around 1926–27) showed an interest in movie theaters. Edward later painted movie theaters too, most famously in his oil painting New York Movie (1939).
From about 1924–25, Jo became her husband's only model. She also came up with the names for some of his famous paintings, including Nighthawks. Even though their relationship was sometimes difficult, she would give him advice when he felt unsure about a painting he was working on. This happened with his painting Five A.M. (1937). As late as 1936, Jo said that her husband was very competitive. If she started a new painting, it would often inspire Edward to start his own.
Selected Works by Josephine Hopper
- The Provincetown Bedroom, watercolor on paper, around 1906
- View of Harbor in Volendam, oil on panel, 1907
- View of Haarlem, oil on panel, 1907
- Shacks, watercolor on paper, 1923
- Our Lady of Good Voyage, watercolor on paper, 1923
- Guinney Fleet in Fog, around 1926–27
- Movie Theater–Gloucester, around 1926–27
- South Truro Church (Odor of Sanctity), around 1930
- Chez Hopper I–IV, a series of paintings of the Hopper's South Truro house, 1935–1959
- Portrait of Alan Slater, watercolor on paper, 1937
- Untitled (Landscape), date unknown
- Cape Cod Hills (also shown as Sandy Hills), around 1936–38
- Dauphineé House, around 1936–38
- The Kerosene Oil Lamp (Gifts–Cape Cod Bureau Top), oil on canvas, 1944
- Park Outside Studio Window, 1945
- Church of San Esteban, oil on canvas, 1946
- Obituary (Fleurs du Temps Jadis), oil on canvas, 1948
- Portrait of Bertram Hartman, watercolor on paper, 1949
- Jewels for the Madonna (Homage to Illa), oil on canvas, 1951
- Edward Hopper Reading Robert Frost, oil on canvas, around 1955
- Buick in California Canyon, oil on canvas, 1957
- Goldenrod & Milkweed in Glorietta Peach Can, oil on canvas, 1965
See also
In Spanish: Josephine Hopper para niños
