This July, The Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester, Massachusetts, hosts Edward Hopper & Cape Ann: Illuminating an American Landscape, the first major exhibition to explore Hopper’s connection to Cape Ann during his formative years as an artist. Visitors will be treated to 65 works that include paintings, prints and drawings assembled from collections housed at Whitney Museum of American Art; Brooklyn Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; private lenders; and other institutions.

“This inaugural partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art as a leading national institution is a first for the Cape Ann Museum,” said Oliver Barker, director, Cape Ann Museum. “Edward Hopper & Cape Ann marks the centennial of the summer of 1923 when Edward Hopper created watercolors that earned his first critical acclaim, and laid the foundation for future success as one of the greatest 20th century American landscape painters.”

Hopper’s first visit to Cape Ann followed an invitation by an artist friend and eventually resulted in an impressive body of work exploring the area’s renowned natural light that had so captured other artists, including Winslow Homer (1836–1910), Fitz Henry Lane (1804–1865) and Theresa Bernstein (1890–2002). His visit also led to a meeting with his future wife, artist/actress Jo Verstille Nivison (Hopper), which involved a missing cat. It was Jo who advised Hopper to make this trek from New York with watercolors, which were easier to transport than oil paints. It was also Jo who proved instrumental in Hopper’s paintings of Gloucester being included with her own work in Brooklyn Museum’s second major biennial focusing on American watercolors.

The exhibition will feature 57 pieces by Hopper, seven by Jo Hopper and one by their instructor Robert Henri. As part of the special exhibition, a six-part lecture series and a day-long symposium are planned. Visit the museum website for details, including speakers, topics, times and dates. The museum is located at 27 Pleasant St. in Gloucester, Massachusetts.