Virginia museum of fine arts Archives

Egypt’s Sunken Treasures

John Reinhold | November 25, 2020

Topics: art, artifacts, discovery, Egypt, Egyptian art, Egyptian history, European Institute For Underwater Archaeology, Greek, Sunken Cities, traveling exhibition, Treasures of Ancient Egypt, Virginia museum of fine arts, vmfa

Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities, which is currently on view at the VMFA, provides a close-up look into the bygone history and culture of Ptolemaic Egypt.

Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities at VMFA offers a rare glimpse into the material culture of Ptolemaic Egypt, a golden age of human creativity and arts. It well worth the visit to see these accent artifacts rescued from the water in such pristine condition. VMFA is the only East Coast venue to have this exhibition, and a last stop before the objects return to their permanent home in Egypt.

If you’re a fan of Egyptian history and artifacts, you will find a treasure trove of unique art — including the colossal statue of the fertility god Hapy, which is the largest discovered representation of an Egyptian god.

The exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see treasures recovered from two powerful ancient Egyptian cities that sank into the Mediterranean more than a thousand years ago. These civilizations were destroyed by a natural catastrophes in the 8th century AD. Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus were once mighty centers of trade, where Egyptian and Greek cultures merged. In the centuries since their demise, these two cities were known only by scattered mentions in ancient writings. No physical trace existed and there were few mentions in history, with even their true names growing obscured. Maritime archaeologist Franck Goddio and his European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) have given new life to these sunken cities.

Visitors get to encounter these findings firsthand, including amazing film footage and photographs that illustrate underwater expeditions with dramatic rediscoveries. Visiting the exhibit, I was immediately stuck with the beauty and preservation of the ancient stone carvings. This period features a unique mix of Greek and Egyptian art and philosophy. These pictures from my visit capture some of the striking art and sculptures. A visit in person truly transports you into a world all its own, where you can discover ancient history like never before.

*Live surround video of underwater expeditions*

*Striking statue of Antinous, Roman Emperor Hadrian’s Lover, who drowned in the Nile, later to be deified by the Emperor.*

*Stele Decree by Pharaoh Nectanebo on Thonis-Heracleion*

*Top of the Stele with Religious markings*

*Amazing Bust of Neilos, the God of Nile, showing Geek influence during this time period.*

*Statue of Tawaret, “The Great One.” This hippo-like God protects infants and mothers.*

*Statue of Osiris dedicated by Nitokris, daughter of Psamtik, a late Egyptian King.*

*Osiris Hydreious Statue. Osiris the Watery was worshiped uniquely in Canopus and connected with the Nile.*

*The Apis Bull Statue standing full-sized. The bull was a manifestation of the God Ptah, one of the original gods of creation.*

Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities is on view at the VMFA through January 18, 2021. Capacity is limited, due to social distancing needs, and the VMFA strongly recommends you make reservations in advance.

Photos by John Reinhold

Building A Collection, Building A Scene

Will Gonzalez | October 21, 2020

Topics: Bill Royall, Curtis Newkirk Jr, Don Childress, Heide Trepanier, Kehinde Wiley, Nick Seitz, Pam Royall, Ron Johnson, Rumors Of War, Ryan Lauterio, Shockoe Artspace, The Builder, Virginia museum of fine arts

Shockoe Artspace founder Ryan Lauterio’s documentary, The Builder, spotlights Richmond art collector Don Childress in an effort to show how important collectors are to keeping the art world alive and thriving.

In 2017, VCU professor and founder of Shockoe Artspace Ryan Lauterio told his friend Don Childress that he knew he would one day tell his story. This year, on September 7, The Builder, directed and edited by Lauterio and Richmond filmmaker Nick Seitz, won top honors in the special interest film category at the Art Is Alive Film Festival in Milwaukee. The documentary, which was also nominated for best feature and best director, follows Childress, a contractor and Oregon Hill native who has an art collection that’s famous among the Richmond gallery scene.

The collection features prominent Richmond artists like Heide Trepanier and Ron Johnson, as well as world-renowned painters such as Francesco Clemente. Despite having works made by artists who are featured in museums, Don didn’t see himself as an art collector prior to the making of the film. According to Lauterio and Seitz, one of the messages they wanted to send with the film was that the world of art is not one of insiders and outsiders, that anyone who creates is an artist and anyone with a love for art can be an art collector.

*Artist Curtis Newkirk Jr; Photo via The Builder*

“The walls that my paintings hang on are the ones that [Childress] built; those walls are just as valuable as the work itself. In fact, they’re in a syncopated relationship that is mutually beneficial and mutually enhancing,” Lauterio said. “We are walking in a world of abundance and we miss it by narrowing down what we think an artist is, and so part of this film was to say Don’s as much an artist as the ones he’s collecting.”

The film features interviews from several Richmond artists, including Johnson, Trepanier, Curtis Newkirk, Jr., Sally Bowring, and Casey Criddle, as well as some curators from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Valerie Cassel Oliver and Dr. Michael Taylor. Also featured in the film are Pam Royall and the late Bill Royall, who passed away this summer from ALS at the age of 74. The couple have donated over 100 works to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and donated $5 million for the building of the Institute for Contemporary Art on Broad St. near VCU. They befriended painter and sculptor Kehinde Wiley, and Bill, who was a member of the VFMA’s board and was president from 2014 to 2016, persuaded the board to acquire Wiley’s sculpture Rumors of War in 2019.

Including so many creators and collectors was important to Seitz and Lauterio. The art world is Richmond is made up of people who are interconnected in ways that, in some cases, they aren’t even aware of. The pair wanted to bring those connections to light with The Builder.

*Pam and Bill Royall. Photo via The Builder*

“Richmond has this rich history of people being unified while diverse,” said Lauterio. “And if you tell a story and neglect the context of people that have come before you to do the hard work, then we’re doing a disservice to them, to ourselves, and those who come after us.”

Because many people may see the world of art collecting as being inaccessible, Seitz and Lauterio wanted to use the film to show people that this isn’t the case, especially in a city like Richmond, where there are so many galleries spread out across its neighborhoods. Even though most people may not see it that way, according to Seitz, the first step to becoming an art collector is as easy as walking into a gallery or show.

“I don’t think anyone in Richmond would dispute the fact that this is an artsy city,” said Seitz. “So I think that this film was especially aimed at the people that already have some access or knowledge or proximity to art, but they have those mental barriers.”

*Artist Ron Johnson. Photo via The Builder.*

Childress’ enthusiasm for art is infectious, and he inspired his team of electricians to start collecting art. According to Lauterio, much of the art world can be elitist, but Childress represents what the art world could be if the community was more open to people who are typically viewed as outsiders.

“The builder is Don Childress primarily, but it’s also a proxy for culture builders that may or may not realize that they are,” said Lauterio. “He’s actually a real person, this is all a true story, but he also metaphorically gives license to other people to realize how much they matter, even when they don’t see themselves as mattering in that way.”

The Builder will be showing in more film festivals and in museums in the future, and is also available to rent online on shockoeartspace.com and builderfilm.com.

Top Photo: Don Childress, via The Builder

Capturing Community, Past And Present

Robin Schwartzkopf | September 15, 2020

Topics: Adger Cowans, Kamoinge Workshop, Louis Draper, Nell Draper-Winston, Sarah Eckhardt, Virginia museum of fine arts, vmfa, Working Together

VMFA’s Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop highlights the work of Richmond-born photographer Louis Draper and the group of African-American photographers he brought together in 1960s New York.

In Gikuyu, the language of the Kikuyu people of Kenya, “Kamoinge” means “a group of people acting and working together.” The Kamoinge Workshop — a collective of Black photographers in New York City founded in 1963 — and its considerable archive of work are the subject of the VMFA exhibit Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop, on display until October 18. But the exhibit isn’t about telling the story of the group — it’s about letting the group tell the story themselves.

“I wanted to do everything I could get out of the way of their narrative,” said Dr. Sarah Eckhardt, curator of Working Together. “What drew me to this project was the fact that Lou had written so beautifully about Kamoinge, and that he had already told this story.”

While the Kamoinge Workshop was made up of a diverse array of skilled and inventive photographers, it did not receive much recognition from outside the African-American photography community. For Eckhardt, the exhibition would allow the group members — several of whom are still living, and contributed to the oral histories Eckhardt completed — to tell their own story.

“That was something I really wanted to be very careful about,” Eckhardt said. “I didn’t want this to be my story about Kamoinge; this is their story. But as a museum, we’re able to give that story a platform.”

*Louis Draper (American, 1935-2002), Untitled, no date, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2015.300 © Louis H. Draper Preservation Trust, Nell D. Winston, trustee*

Born just outside Richmond in Henrico County in 1935, Louis Draper would go to Virginia State College before leaving to move to New York and pursue photography. While there, he met and studied with working photographers, writers, and artists who would become his mentors and colleagues, including the early members of the Kamoinge Workshop included in Working Together. These include Anthony Barboza, Adger Cowans, Danny Dawson, Roy DeCarava, Al Fennar, Ray Francis, Herman Howard, Jimmie Mannas Jr., Herb Randall, Herb Robinson, Beuford Smith, Ming Smith, Shawn Walker, and Calvin Wilson.

Although the Kamoinge Workshop focused on African-American communities in New York, bringing Draper’s work back to Richmond was significant for his sister, Nell Draper-Winston, from whom the VMFA acquired his entire archive in 2015. In a video for the VMFA, Draper-Winston relayed not only her brother’s studies under much-lauded photographers like Harold Feinstein and W. Eugene Smith — as well as his mentorship by Langston Hughes — but shared that their father was also a photographer. He bought a reluctant Draper a camera when Louis went to Virginia State.

Draper himself did not take up photography seriously until he saw the exhibition log for The Family of Man, a photographic exhibition curated by Edward Steichen and first presented at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1955, after which it toured for eight years. This inspired him to move to New York.

For Eckhardt, bringing the Kamoinge Workshop’s art to Richmond gives Richmonders, and specifically young people, the opportunity to see the remarkable, community-driven work.

“The specificity of history matters … to be able to not just tell a story, but to be able to relate it to visual images that an artist made who grew up in Richmond,” Eckhardt said. “[It] seems significant to me to then have Richmonders see that work — see what the person who was shaped by Richmond and by the community in Richmond in the 1930s and 40s and 50s — what he made.”

Community seems to be a central theme of the Kamoinge Workshop’s art, inspiration, and goals. While Draper and other photographers in the group photographed many well-known Black intellectuals, activists, and artists, much of their work was concerned with African-American communities in New York City, which were often overlooked or captured negatively by more mainstream photographers.

“He loved photographing notable people, but his main joy came from capturing the character of everyday people through his photography,” Draper-Winston said of her brother.

*Adger Cowans (American, born 1936), Footsteps, 1960, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Aldine S. Hartman Endowment Fund, 2018.201 © Adger Cowans*

The group did not have a unified perception of all political matters. Some members were more radical, while others wanted to let the photographs serve as their form of protest. However, many of the Kamoinge Workshop members spoke in oral history interviews about the desire to see their communities portrayed differently from the way they saw them in the larger newspapers, and to harness the visual power of representation.

“The images that they’re doing of us in the newspapers are terrible,” Adger Cowans, a member of the workshop, recalled in a video for the VMFA. “So we decided that we would take that over and photograph our people in a positive way, a positive light.”

Community had several meanings for the members of the workshop and Draper himself. It included the community of photographers, the effort to represent communities of Black people in New York, and the community-driven aspect of having gallery space and hosting shows and critiques. For Draper, who appears in archival footage in the VMFA’s video, the energy of the group persists through these meanings.

“You have to talk about the actual workshop, the functioning, the day-to-day operation, and then you have to talk about the spirit that was generated by that formative period,” Draper said. “And that, I think, will continue with us. I mean, that was such an important part of our lives that there’s no way of erasing that.”

Though the exhibition opened in February, the VMFA closed its doors for several months because of the pandemic. The museum has now reopened with various precautions in place for safety, including requiring face masks for all employees and visitors and implementing social distancing guidelines. In the case of Working Together, the museum’s closing made exhibit organizers think about how to translate the exhibit into a virtual format. Digitizing the entire archive and posting oral history videos online gave a much broader audience access to the work of the Kamoinge, even though in-person viewings were impossible. The planned two-day symposium was also switched to an online, seven-week series.

“It made me far more committed to hoping in the future that we will increase accessibility … by also doing more online at the same time as we continue to have the work in the space,” Eckhardt said.

*Ming Smith (American), America Seen through Stars and Stripes, New York City, New York, ca. 1976, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Adolph D. And Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 2016.241 © Ming Smith*

The striking work on display in Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop has historic weight and contemporary inspiration — the spirit of the group Draper described is still alive in the photographs, decades on. From the Civil Rights movement to now, in the midst of social movements demanding justice long overdue, the photographs feel as relevant as ever.

“One of the larger points of the exhibition is that they’ve always been relevant,” Eckhardt said. “This idea of something being more relevant now, like it was relevant in the late 60s, and now it’s relevant again — I think it’s more about who’s paying attention than it is about their work being more relevant at some point and less relevant at others.”

The Kamoinge Workshop can tell their own stories, past and present. It can encourage young people to speak, create, and protest for themselves. And it invites all people to listen.

Top Photo: Anthony Barboza (American, born 1944), Kamoinge Group Portrait, 1973, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Courtesy Eric and Jeanette Lipman Fund, 2019.249 © Anthony Barboza photog

Egyptian Mysteries Revealed at VMFA

Emilia Ruzicka | July 23, 2020

Topics: Canopus, Franck Goddio, Mediterranean Sea, Peter Schertz, Sunken Cities, Thonis-Heracleion, Treasures of Ancient Egypt, Virginia museum of fine arts, vmfa

Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities opened at the VMFA July 1, giving visitors a glimpse into ancient cultural mixing and the world of underwater archaeology.

On July 1, 2020, as Virginia entered Phase 3 of its COVID-19 plan, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) opened its doors to visitors for the first time since March. VMFA members were welcomed to the Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities exhibit, which opened to the public on July 4, 2020. The exhibit explores the cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus, two important religious and cultural centers of Ptolemaic Egypt that sunk below the waters of the Mediterranean Sea more than a thousand years ago.

Curated by Franck Goddio, the director of the European Institute of Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) and organized for VMFA by Dr. Peter Schertz, VMFA’s Jack and Mary Ann Frable Curator of Ancient Art, Sunken Cities is a treasure trove of more than 250 individual artifacts recovered from Aboukier Bay off the coast of Egypt by a team of underwater archaeologists led by Goddio.

The items reflect the incredible cultural mixing that occurred between Egypt and other civilizations in the ancient world, especially regarding religion and an annual fertility festival called the Mysteries of Osiris. Both Egyptian pharaohs and Persians ruled the Egyptian Empire between 600 and 400 BC, and Alexander the Great conquered the region in 332 BC, facilitating interactions that produced a veritable renaissance of artistic, literary, and religious expression.

Though the incredible exhibition runs without a hitch now (allowing masked visitors to enter with timed tickets every half hour), its opening was delayed by about six weeks due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only was the shipping of the exhibition items more difficult, but the expert handlers from Egypt and Europe, who would usually come to observe the installation, were no longer able to travel to the United States.

“Because the organizers were not here to actually oversee the installation, every time that we worked on a case or an object, we would send photographs over the internet, ask if it looked all right to them,” said Dr. Peter Schertz. “They would either approve it or say, ‘that looks good, but could you tweak it this way, or that way?’”

Schertz went on to describe how only those directly involved with the installation were allowed into the gallery space, and all of the art handlers at the VMFA wore gloves and masks throughout the entire installation process. However, sometimes the nature of the work required them to be closer than the recommended six-foot distance.

“When you’re installing fifteen objects in a case that’s about three feet long, and trying to adjust the heights of the mounts and the position of the objects, you’re not always able to social distance,” he said. “It was a little nerve-wracking.”

*Statue of the Fertility God Hapy, 4th or 3rd century BC. Thonis-Heracleion, red granite, 5.4 m. high. Maritime Museum Alexandria. Photo: Christoph Gerigk © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation*

The VMFA is taking precautions to make the experience less stressful for visitors, requiring everyone to wear masks and reminding them to keep six feet away from each other. For those who may not have their own mask, the museum provides one, free of charge. The flow of the museum has also been adjusted so that visitors enter through the main doors, but exit through a side door, attempting to prevent people from being in close proximity as much as possible.

All interactive elements of exhibitions at the VMFA are currently closed. In-person camps, programs, and events are cancelled for the foreseeable future. In lieu of these face-to-face experiences, the VMFA is posting video content and running a variety of classes and lectures via video conferencing platforms.

Despite these hurdles, the VMFA is working to allow as many people to see the Sunken Cities exhibit as possible, since this is the only stop the artifacts will make on the Eastern Seaboard, and their last stop before being returned to Egypt. When asked how the staff felt about having visitors in the museum again, the VMFA responded enthusiastically.

“Charged with the mission to enrich the lives of all through art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is the only art museum in the United States typically open 365 days a year. We recognize seeing and experiencing art firsthand makes more of an impact than digital platforms can. We were eager to welcome people back, to be excited and inspired by VMFA’s exhibitions and collection.”

An archaeologist checks the stele of Thonis-Heracleion raised under water on site in the city of Heracleion. Thonis-Heracleion, Aboukir Bay, Egypt (SCA 277), National Museum, Alexandria – IEASM Excavations. Photo: Christoph Gerigk © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation

In response to a question about what he hoped visitors would leave the exhibition knowing, Dr. Peter Schertz laughed.

“I’m a curator, not a teacher, so I don’t necessarily want people to know a specific thing,” he explained. Instead, he said that he hoped visitors noticed three intertwining stories when exploring the exhibit. The first is the story of underwater archaeology and all of the challenges and excitement that go along with diving for ancient artifacts. The second is a narrative about the religious festival called the Mysteries of Osiris. Last is a story of cultural mixing; the art displayed in the exhibition shows a mixture of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman styles. No single artistic tradition dominates over another, but they intertwine in a beautiful tapestry of human expression.

“At a time when we’re re-examining the concept of internationalism and globalism on many levels, I hope that people come out of this exhibition and think, ‘Something amazing happened when the Egyptian civilization intensely encountered the Greek and Roman civilizations. Something wonderful happened artistically and culturally. Something important for the world,’” Schertz said.

Not only does Schertz want visitors to know that there was incredible cultural exchange in the past, but he’d like to look towards the future as well.

“I think about our own world today and what kind of world we want tomorrow. And I hope people think, ‘Wow, cultural mixing can be really positive and great!’ I want people to reflect and realize that it’s not just a bunch of ancient stuff. It can inform our thinking about our society and our world.”

Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities is organized by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology with the generous support of the Hilti Foundation and in collaboration with the Ministry of Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt. To learn more and buy tickets for the exhibition, visit https://www.vmfa.museum/exhibitions/exhibitions/treasures-ancient-egypt/.

Top Photo: Archeologist eye to eye to with a sphinx underwater. Granodiorite. H. 70, L 150 cm. 1st c. BC. National Museum, Alexandria (SCA 450) Alexandria Eastern Harbour. IEASM Excavation. The treatment of the face is characteristic of royal effigies blending the Pharaonic traditions with the Hellenistic portrait style. This Sphinx could be a portrait of the father of Cleopatra VII, the “great” Cleopatra, Ptolemy XII Auletes Neos Dionysos. Photo: Jérôme Delafosse © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation

“Rumors Of War” Arrives In Richmond

Jimmy O'Keefe | December 11, 2019

Topics: Confederate monuments, Kehinde Wiley, Levar Stoney, Ralph Northam, Rumors Of War, Virginia museum of fine arts, vmfa

The statue by artist Kehinde Wiley was unveiled yesterday in its permanent home at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Kehinde Wiley unveiled his “Rumors of War” statue on the lawn of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Tuesday afternoon. The statue, which depicts a young black man in streetwear riding a horse, was first unveiled in New York City’s Times Square in September.

Wiley was inspired to create the statue after visiting Richmond years ago and seeing the Confederate monuments around the city. It is modeled after the J.E.B. Stuart monument that stands at the intersection of Monument Ave. and Lombardy St. in Richmond. It is 27 feet tall — one foot taller than the Stuart statue. “Rumors of War” will now be a permanent fixture on the lawn of the VMFA, just blocks from the Confederate statues that dominate Monument Avenue.

A massive crowd was on hand to view the unveiling. Governor Ralph Northam, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, and Wiley all spoke prior to the statue being revealed. At the moment of its removal, a tarp concealing the 29-foot statue became stuck on the figure’s hair, but a Richmond firefighter was able to remove the tarp, revealing the full statue.

RVA Magazine was on hand to view the event — here are some images of what took place:

*Lots of Richmonders came out to see the statue’s unveiling. (Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe)*

*Hundreds of people came out for their first chance to see “Rumors Of War” in its new home. (Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe)*

*Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney addresses the crowd. (Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe)*

*Governor Ralph Northam speaks. (Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe)*

*Artist Kehinde Wiley introduces his creation. (Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe)*

*The time for the unveiling has arrived. (Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe)*

*At the last moment, the tarp snags on the figure’s hair. (Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe)*

*Finally, after assistance from a firefighter whose ladder you can see in this shot, “Rumors Of War” was unveiled. (Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe)*

*Thrilled onlookers captured the moment on their cellphones. (Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe)*

Top Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe. Additional reporting by Marilyn Drew Necci.

Images Of American Emptiness: Edward Hopper’s Hotels

Theo Trotter | November 4, 2019

Topics: Berenice Abbott, Edward Hopper, Edward Hopper and the American Hotel, Jo Nivison Hopper, Reginald Marsh, Virginia museum of fine arts, vmfa

Edward Hopper captured the alienation of 20th century America in his paintings of hotels, currently on display in an in-depth retrospective at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

The exciting new show Edward Hopper and the American Hotel opened October 26th at the VMFA, its only East Coast venue. Despite long being an established part of the American artistic canon, and having portrayed hotels and motels for much of his life, strangely this is the first major retrospective of Edward Hopper’s work focusing on this subject.

Although many know Hopper chiefly by his painting “Nighthawks,” his quintessential image of loneliness and alienation, depicting a diner late at night, much of his best work was created with an eye on hotels and motels across the nation. This new exhibition gives us an illuminating view of his career with a focus on his favorite subject matter, and broadens our understanding of a painter now considered one of the great American artists.

We are first introduced to Hopper through his covers for the magazines Hotel Management and Tavern Topics, along with a self portrait of the young artist. The exhibition then proceeds roughly chronologically through his career. At the entrance is a huge photographic image of the artist — the constant invisible presence in his mature body of work, where he never willingly shows his face. It is fitting that he looms over us as we enter the exhibit.

*“Western Motel,” Edward Hopper, 1957 (Via VMFA)*

We catch sight of the man himself again in a photo by Berenice Abbott, where he sits scowling beside his etching press. According to his wife Josephine “Jo” Nivison Hopper, Abbott “was taking up the whole morning, and using the studio of a very distinguished person,” as she put it, “as slowly as possible.”

Along with other photos by Abbott, known for her photographs of New York architecture and important artists and writers of her time, the thoughtful inclusion of a variety of other artists leads one to speculate how Hopper has influenced American art. The photographers Cindy Sherman and Gregory Crewdson, to name a few notable examples, call attention to the way the setting of the hotel room functions as a stage. In some sense, every painter “stages” their paintings, but unlike Hopper, most do not call attention to that fact.

A vital recurring motif on these stages is the window. In Hopper’s strange and familiar world, the window is just as often a barrier as it is a threshold, as in the empty black eyes of the solitary woman of “Morning Sun.” In the final image we are left with before exiting the exhibition, “Hotel by a Railroad,” a man looks out the window upon a wall — and another window, which, covered by a curtain, likewise functions as a wall. Meanwhile a woman in a nightdress sits reading in a chair nearby. Although they are staged only a few feet apart from one another, the two figures appear deeply solitary. Despite the voyeurism evident in much of his work, as much remains hidden as is revealed.

*“Hotel By A Railroad,” Edward Hopper, 1952 (Via WikiArt)*

Some of what is on display here also reminds us of what is absent from Hopper’s oeuvre. The inclusion of Reginald Marsh’s “Belmont House,” for example, helps to highlight the overwhelming whiteness of Hopper’s world. It is worth remembering that most of these hotel spaces were segregated at the time. “Belmont House” is also interesting in its portrayal of social life, in stark contrast with Hopper’s lonely figures. These elements drive home the fact that, although these paintings seem to function as empty stages, they are far from neutral ground, and are certainly not universal.

We are also invited to contemplate the constant presence of Hopper’s wife Jo during much of his travels, showing us that he was not precisely the solitary figure wandering the American landscape that his paintings might have us believe. Part of the exhibition focuses on their travels through Mexico, and three of Nivison’s diaries are on display as well. During their trips together in the 1940’s and 50’s, she was an avid chronicler of their experiences. This was a time when the hospitality business was booming, with over 59% of those who traveled overnight by car staying motels.

In any case, one need not even be familiar with the image of the hotel room at all to identify its “American-ness.” One thing that characterizes our nation is our great (apparently) empty spaces, as in these hotel rooms — or perhaps on long stretches of highway, along which we can experience, as one critic put it in his description of Hopper’s painting “Rooms for Tourists,” the “strange clarity of something seen for an instant by a passing driver.”

*“Hotel Lobby,” Edward Hopper, 1943 (via VMFA/Facebook)*

Overall, in Edward Hopper and the American Motel, we are taken on a fascinating journey through Hopper’s career and the culture of American hotels and motels during his lifetime. The hotel is identified as a site where Hopper created some of his finest work, as well as a place where people from all over America came together without seeing one another.

Top Image: “Morning Sun,” Edward Hopper, 1952 (Via EdwardHopper.net)