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Thesis: The Formative Years of Edward Hopper, 1882-1929
Supervised by David Peters Corbett
Funded by AHRC/CHASE
My thesis examines the formative years and early works of Edward Hopper (1882-1967). I am particularly interested in how historical conceptions of American identity have informed both the creation and the reception of Hopper’s art, from the artist’s childhood through to his gradual recognition in the 1920s. By revealing the origins of many of Hopper’s uncharacteristic early works and accounting for their often-surprising array of styles and themes, I seek to illuminate the artist’s innate absorption of American cultural politics around the turn of the twentieth century. This relation of Hopper’s works to their broader social history will underpin an interrogation of the development and cultivation of Hopper’s Americanist persona, challenging notions of Hopper’s quintessential ‘Americanness’ and deconstructing the implications of such rhetoric in relation to the artist’s canonical reputation.
Education
- PhD, The Courtauld Institute of Art, (2018 – present)
- MA History of Art, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Distinction, (2011 – 2012). (Special Option: ‘Art, Artists and 20th Century Modernism in Europe: Works, Contexts, Meanings’, taught by Professor Christopher Green.) Dissertation: “On Reflection: Lucian Freud’s Self-Portraits”.
- BA History of Art, University of Bristol, First Class Honours, (2008 – 2011)
Awards & Grants
- 2020-22, Terra Foundation For American Art Academic Program Grant, Conference, “American Art and the Political Imagination” (forthcoming, March 2022)
- 2019, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Travel Grant
- 2019, SAVAnT @ CHASE Research Travel Awards Shortlist Prize
- 2018, AHRC-funded CHASE Doctoral Studentship (2018-21)
- 2011, Dissertation Award, University of Bristol: “The window and the void in the work of Edward Hopper”
Conferences
- Paper, “Edward Hopper in the 1940s”, The 1940s in Focus, The Courtauld Institute of Art (forthcoming, June 2021)
- Chair, Third Year PhD Symposium, 8 October 2020
- Paper, “An American Doppelganger: Edward Hopper’s Captain Ed Staples,” Dialogues: Modern and Contemporary Approaches to Politics and Place,” The Courtauld Institute of Art, 5 May 2020
Teaching & University Roles
- Teaching Assistant, The Courtauld Institute of Art, BA1 Foundations, 2021
- PhD Representative, The Courtauld Institute of Art, 2021
Employment
- Studio Assistant, Danny Lane Sculpture (2016-17)
- Account Manager, Albany Arts Communications (2016)
- Account Manager, Theresa Simon & Partners (2014-15)
- Musician & Songwriter (2014-present)
- Communications Officer, Blain Southern Gallery (2013-14)
- Press Officer, London 2012 Cultural Olympiad (2012)
- Junior Associate, Bolton & Quinn (2011-12)
- Intern, Bolton & Quinn (2010)
- Intern, Victoria & Albert Museum (2008)
Articles & Publications
- “The origins of Edward Hopper’s earliest oil paintings,” The Burlington Magazine (October 2020)
- Letter, “Edward Hopper’s A Pair of Slippers,” The Burlington Magazine (November 2020)
- Review, The Art Newspaper, Feb. 2019, Lucian Freud, ed. Mark Holborn/David Dawson
- Editor, Damien Hirst: The Visual Candy Paintings, Blain Southern, 2013
- Editor, Marius Bercea, Blain Southern, 2013
- Editor, Lectori Salutem, Blain Southern, 2013
Media
- “Early Works by Edward Hopper Found to be Copies of Other Artists,” The New York Times, by Blake Gopnik, 28 September 2020
- “Art student exposes Edward Hopper as not quite the American ‘original,” The Times, by David Sanderson, 1 October 2020
- “Some of Edward Hopper’s Earliest Paintings are Copies of Other Artists’ Work,” Smithsonian Magazine, by Nora McGreevy, 1 October 2020
- “The story behind a student who discovered Edward Hopper’s earliest paintings were copies,” The Art Newspaper, by Hannah McGivern, 6 October 2020
- “Edward Hopper ‘copied other artist’s paintings’: Art student debunks legendary artist’s claim to be an ‘American original,” Daily Mail, by Jack Newman, 1 October 2020
- “Some of Edward Hopper’s Earliest Paintings Are Actually Copies He Made From a How-To Art Magazine,” Artnet, by Sarah Cascone, 30 September 2020
- “Edward Hopper’s Earliest Oil Works Are Copies of Other Paintings, Researcher Claims,” New York Observer, by Helen Holmes, 29 September 2020
- “Early Paintings by Edward Hopper Found to Be Replicated From Magazines,” Hyperallergic, by Valentina Di Liscia, 30 September 2020
Research Interests
- Edward Hopper
- American painting c.1850 – 1950
- American Studies
- Realism
- Nationalism
- Regionalism