“I have fallen in love with these postcards as objects. I felt they deserved to be on view at a museum and now they are; they give a certain amount of relatability to an iconic artist like Edward Hopper,” says Dr. Sarah Powers, Curatorial Research Specialist for the exhibition Edward Hopper and the American Hotel. Sarah’s enthusiasm for postcards is contagious and her diligence has helped create an amazing interactive experience for visitors.
The collaboration between Dr. Sarah Powers and exhibition curator Dr. Leo Mazow, Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Curator of American Art, began in 2007 when Sarah was a doctoral candidate and fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She says, “I’ve known Leo a long time. He’s always been a very generous and supportive colleague and scholar.” Flash forward to the spring of 2017; Leo contacted Sarah because he knew that she had written part of her dissertation on Hopper and possessed extensive knowledge. In other words, she had the bibliography and knew where to find information.
Sarah explains, “When Leo first contacted me, we discussed the possibility of me writing an essay for the catalogue, and I was delighted, because it gave me an opportunity to build on my research into Hopper from my dissertation. In the end, he asked me to assist him on all aspects of the exhibition and catalogue, and I feel very fortunate that he has very much allowed me to collaborate on the project, and has valued the contribution of this non-traditional avenue of research (e.g. postcards and related ephemera) to the structure of the exhibition.”
As part of her research, Sarah successfully found numerous vintage postcards on eBay. “Postcards are a great research tool to recreate a world that doesn’t exist anymore.” She explains that the postcards provided a fundamental methodology to how they researched the exhibition. In fact, they essentially began reconstructing neighborhoods the Hoppers visited on their road trips.
In the summer of 2017, Sarah and Leo paid a visit to the Provincetown Art Association and Museum in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Their discovery was a game changer. They found 60 volumes of diaries written in extraordinary detail by Hopper’s wife, Josephine, otherwise known as “Jo.” Her descriptions were highly detailed and very helpful. At that point, Sarah and Leo decided to focus their attention on the couple’s road trips. Visitors will note that “Edward & Jo’s” road trips are traced on a map using the format of the former AAA Trip Tiks – and yes, that was before GPS became common in our cars.
Sarah’s favorite postcard in the exhibition is certainly not the prettiest. In 1952, Edward and Jo took a road trip to a brand new motel called the John Milledge in Milledgeville, Georgia.
Here is an excerpt from Jo’s diary:
December 10, 1952
Beautiful, beautiful motor court, the John Milledge at Milledgeville, GA. We got there late trying to use all the daylight to make up mileage – 913 from NYC. Each unit had 2 double beds, ours with Veronese green coverlets, bathtub and shower, fine goose neck lamps, etc. Grander, much more than necessary, but we lucky to find anything riding about in the dark.
The Hoppers’ road trips are recreated in this exhibition to give more insight into their life together. Sarah points out, “For Jo, this new motel is the height of luxury; she calls them ‘deluxe.’” The hotel may have seemed like a virtual oasis of calm compared to their 5th floor New York City apartment. Their apartment must have been an oven in the summer and, in winter, they had to carry coal up from the basement to keep warm. Sarah adds, “I also love how perfectly her description of the room matches the interior shot of a motel room on the postcard!”
Come and take an intimate look at how this iconic artist captured the American hotel. This exhibition is on view until February 23, 2020.