Behind the paintings: Documentary looks at the life, love and art of Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper left his mark within the art world during his life.

While his name may not be widely known, his art speaks volumes.

This is part of what intrigued Phil Grabsky and Michael Cascio to deep dive into Hopper’s life for the American Experience documentary, “Hopper: An American Love Story.”

The documentary premieres at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1.

“Our starting point with the films is the art,” Grabsky says. “You can really appreciate the art. We want to be able to let viewers know who the person is behind the paintings. What’s so interesting about Edward Hopper is in order to understand him, you have to understand (his wife) Josephine (Nivison). Without one, you don’t know the other.”

Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons brings the words of Edward Hopper himself to life, while Tony-winner Christine Baranski reads from Jo’s diaries, and Isabel May voices the letters of Hopper’s romantic interest, Alta Hilsdale.

Hopper was a realist painter whose vision was reflective of his own temperament – often finding focal points such as empty cityscapes, landscapes and isolated figures.

He was born in 1882 in New York and studied at the New York School of Art from 1900 to 1906.

During his time in school he went from illustration to focusing on fine art – eventually working as an illustrator after college.

Hopper arrived in Paris in 1906 and found influence in Impressionism – specifically Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh.

By 1910, Hopper returned to the United States and never left North America again.

At 37, he received his first open invitation to have a one-man exhibit at the Whitney Club.

In 1923, Hopper married a fellow New York Academy student Josephine Nivison.

Not only did she pose for nearly half of the female figure pieces which he created during his career, she also encouraged and pushed him to engage in different art forms during his career as well. She pushed him to work with watercolors, and she kept records of all the pieces he designed, the exhibits he was to be a part of, and all the sales of the pieces which were made, during these exhibits in which his work was presented.

The landscapes, the quiet rooms and empty rooms he designed created a sense of contemporary life and a new style and by 1933, he was more popular than ever.

“Jo influenced his career in marketing and in the art itself,” Cascio says. “Their relationship was rocky at times, and it’s not a smooth relationship she wrote about in her diaries.”

Grabsky is grateful to be able to dive into Hopper’s life to give viewers a different perspective.

He says Hopper is more than just the artist who painted the iconic “Nighthawks” painting.

“There was a sense that he was a difficult man and abusive to his wife, which is pretty unpleasant,” Grabsky says. “We literally could only find two filmed interviews. The paintings reveal a lot about the complexity and difficulties in his life. He’s a master storyteller with each brush stroke.”

When the pandemic took hold of the world and isolation began to set in, Hopper’s artwork began to find a new audience.

“He’s the most (referenced) artist during the pandemic,” Grabsky says. “He was painting isolated individuals who were isolated and home alone. People were really finding a connection with the pieces he created.”

Cascio says the couple deserves to be known as well as their work.

Behind the paintings: Documentary looks at the life, love and art of Edward Hopper

“Alfred Hitchcock was influenced by his work,” Cascio says. “Edward Hopper is known for his work in and around New York. Though he did travel the country and spent a lot of time in New Mexico with Jo. They would make all the trips by car.”

The New Mexico Museum of Art has a few Hopper pieces in its permanent collection. He painted pieces that contained the adobe buildings around New Mexico, as well as one painting with the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

Grabsky says, along with Georgia O’Keeffe, Hopper took his place as a prominent figure in early 20th-century American art.

He died in 1967, but his popularity never waned, he says.

With months of research and filming, it was the editing process where the story was formed.

“We had a lot of material and had to decide what to keep and what to cut out,” Cascio says. “Phil had the idea that we focus on his personality. Edward Hopper’s life story had not been fully told in relation to his part in the art world. We stopped counting at 50 pieces of art.”

Grabsky says films are made in the edit suite.

“There are some works you will have seen in your lifetime,” Grabsky says. “ ‘Nighthawks’ is a fascinating piece. We get to the stories of the man or the couple behind the painting and keep that rhythm going. We tried hard to make sure that the right depth and breadth of interviewees moved the narrative forward.”