NEW YORK, NY.- Edward Hopper first painted Gloucester during a summer spent in the Massachusetts fishing town and artist’s haven in 1912. He returned to the area in the summer of 1924 and again in 1926 and 1928, before he began summering in Truro, on Cape Cod, in 1930. During his time spent in Gloucester and other parts of New England, Hopper was inspired by the towns, landscapes, and coast lines that surrounded him and portrayed these everyday scenes in his realist style with subtle, psycho-social undertones.

Watercolor became an important media for Hopper beginning in 1923, and the translucent quality of the paint allowed him to better capture the effect of sunlight in his works. While many of his watercolors are executed in a very precise, restrained style, the present example is lose and spontaneous. The closely cropped composition allows Hopper to explore the movement of the trees blowing in the wind and the dramatic variations of light and shadow in the landscape. Thin washes of paint in the foreground contrast with the opaque pigment of the foliage, varying from deep blues to light greens, which give the trees dimension and demonstrate the artist’s interest in the effects of sunlight. The rich and varying tonalities and the larger composition void of figures anticipate the poignant isolation that would underlie much of Hopper's subsequent work.

The present work is inventoried in the artist's record book and illustrated in several catalogues, most notably those authored by the preeminent Hopper expert, Gail Levin. Please see additional images, as well as exhibition history, literature and provenance in the lot.

"This early and thoughtful watercolor, painted during Hopper's vacationing in Gloucester, Massachusetts, marks a watershed moment in his career, when Hopper exhibited sixteen watercolors at a solo exhibition at Frank K. M. Rehn New York gallery. Every single work sold, and Hopper never looked back to illustration and printmaking to sustain him." says Conner Williams, Senior Specialist, Contemporary Art and Prints, at artnet Auctions.

For more information, please contact Conner Williams at cwilliams@artnet.com or 212–497–9700 ext. 595