Edward and Josephine Hopper Research Collection

The material in The Edward Hopper Research Collection documents the long relationship between Edward Hopper (1882-1967) and the Whitney Museum of American Art. It includes voluminous documentation of the artist’s life and work compiled by Whitney curators in the course of preparing exhibitions of Hopper’s work and the Hopper Catalogue Raisonné, as well as correspondence with Hopper and his wife Josephine, and with collectors of Hopper work.

Series 1, Collector files, documents the ownership and provenance of Hopper's works. Please note that these files were compiled for the Catalogue Raisonné and may contain information that is no longer current. Also note that this information is heavily restricted; only public owners' files are accessible.

Most of the material in Series 2 and 3 was gathered for the Catalogue Raisonné project, which began in the mid- to late-1970s and was completed upon publication in 1995. Series 2 consists of extensive clipping files covering Edward Hopper's life, his artwork, and exhibitions. Series 3 holds lists and collections of photographs of Hopper’s work.

The biographical and personal papers in Series 4 include some original Hopper correspondence, as well as a compendium of photocopies of letters from other archives. Also included in this series are a chronology of Hopper’s life, photographs of the artist, his wife, and various family members; photographs of life documents such as birth certificates; unpublished interviews; and notes made by Whitney curator Lloyd Goodrich about conversations with he had Hopper.

Series 5 consists of material relating to Edward Hopper’s wife, Josephine Nivison Hopper, who acted as his agent and business manager. Included here is correspondence, both original and photocopied from other collections; photographs of her work; and miscellaneous notes.

The administrative material in Series 6 is largely restricted, and includes files about the bequest of Hopper works and files relating to their management.

The Exhibition files in Series 7 relate to all the exhibitions on Hopper held at or organized by the Whitney Museum. This material is complemented by the corresponding Curatorial files (Series 8), and researchers are urged to see both. Like the Curatorial files, these also belong to the Museum’s institutional archives.

Series 8, Curatorial Files, consist of files relating to Hopper that were created by various curators at the Whitney Museum. Lloyd Goodrich was not only in charge of the Hopper collection during much of his tenure at the Museum (1930-1974), but was also a good friend of the Hoppers. Gail Levin took over as curator of the Hopper Collection (serving in this capacity from 1977-1984) and began work on the Catalogue Raisonné during her tenure at the Museum. Deborah Lyons worked with Levin, and continued the Hopper work after Levin left the Museum.

The material in Series 9 relates to Hopper prints, including photographs, cataloging information, collector information and a folder of photographs of Hopper collages, which are primarily Christmas cards.

The final Series includes miscellaneous material relating to projects not having to do with the Whitney Museum for which Hopper and/or his work were the subject.

See Series List and Series Descriptions, below, for more detailed description. See Appendices for Folder Lists. Restrictions Some material in this collection concerns private collectors and is therefore inaccessible to the public. See series descriptions for more details.