Updated: September 6, 2007

"Edward Hopper" Exhibition Film Features Interviews with Artists Eric Fischl and Red Grooms; Produced by National Gallery of Art, Washington

Washington, DC –The iconic paintings and artistic impact of Edward Hopper (1882–1967) are the subject of a new documentary film that accompanies the exhibition Edward Hopper on its national tour. Narrated by the award-winning actor, writer, and Hopper art collector Steve Martin and produced by the National Gallery of Art, the 30-minute film premiered to television audiences on New York's WNET Channel 13 on Sunday, August 19 at 10:30 p.m. In the Washington area, the documentary will be shown on WETA Channel 26 on Thursday, September 6 at 10:30 p.m. and in the Baltimore area on WMPT Channel 67 on Sunday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. Additional air dates to be announced.

At the National Gallery, the film will be shown in its entirety in the East Building auditoriums, dates to be announced. A 15-minute version of the film will be shown continuously in a theater inside the exhibition.

The film is made possible by the HRH Foundation.

The Exhibition

The classic works of Edward Hopper (1882-1967) capture the realities of urban and rural American life with a poignancy and beauty that have placed them among the most enduring and popular images of the 20th century. This exhibition of 47 oil paintings, 35 watercolors, 12 prints, and two notebooks, arranged chronologically and thematically, reveals Hopper as a creator of compelling images who produced remarkably powerful effects in both oil and watercolor.

The Film

The documentary includes archival footage of Hopper, new footage of places that inspired him in New York and New England, including his boyhood home in Nyack and his studio on Washington Square, where he lived and worked for more than 50 years. From their New York studios, artists Red Grooms and Eric Fischl discuss Hopper's influence on their careers. Co-curators of the exhibition—Carol Troyen, the Kristin and Roger Servison curator of paintings, Art of the Americas, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Judith Barter, The Field-McCormick Chair of American Art at The Art Institute of Chicago, as well as independent scholar Avis Berman, author of Hopper's New York, discuss recent and diverse perspectives on Hopper's art.

Hopper's passion for the movies, particularly film noir classics from the 1930s such as The Public Enemy, is revealed in the film, which also shows the influence of Hopper's work on the set designs of filmmakers who came after him, including Alfred Hitchcock and Wim Wenders.

The 30-minute minute DVD is currently available for $19.99 through the National Gallery of Art Shops. To order the DVD, call (800) 697-9350 or (202) 842-6002; fax (202) 789-3047; or e-mail [email protected].

Support and Organization

Edward Hopper is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Gallery of Art, Washington; and The Art Institute of Chicago.

The exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington is made possible by a generous grant from the global consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.