Thesis: Memory and Myth: Edward Hopper and American Identity, 1882-1940
Supervised by David Peters Corbett; advised by Professor Jo Applin
Examined by Alexander Nemerov and Professor Sarah Churchwell
Funded by AHRC/CHASE (the Consortium for the Humanities and the Arts in South-East England)
My thesis examined the work of Edward Hopper (1882-1967) in relation to American history and culture, exploring how historic and enduring conceptions of American identity have underpinned both the creation and reception of Hopper’s art. By investigating conceptions of Americanness that developed throughout the artist’s lifetime, I looked to challenge the myths that have long disconnected Hopper’s art from the social, cultural and political frameworks of its production.
Education
- PhD History of Art, The Courtauld Institute of Art (2018-2022)
- MA History of Art, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Distinction (Special Option: ‘Art, Artists and 20th Century (2011-2012) Modernism in Europe: Works, Contexts, Meanings’, taught by Professor Christopher Green.) Dissertation: “On Reflection: Lucian Freud’s Self-Portraits”.
- BA History of Art, University of Bristol, First Class Honours (2008-2011)
Publications
- Book, Edward Hopper, Yale University Press (forthcoming, 2025)
- Essay, “Edward Hopper as Puritan,” Edward Hopper as Puritan, Craig Starr Gallery (October 2023)
- Review, “The Big Review: Edward Hopper’s New York,” The Art Newspaper (December 2022)
- Article, “The origins of Edward Hopper’s earliest oil paintings,” The Burlington Magazine (October 2020)
- Letter, “Edward Hopper’s A Pair of Slippers,” The Burlington Magazine (November 2020)
- Review, The Art Newspaper, Feb. 2019, Lucian Freud, ed. Mark Holborn/David Dawson
- Editor, Damien Hirst: The Visual Candy Paintings, Blain Southern, 2013
- Editor, Marius Bercea, Blain Southern, 2013
- Editor, Lectori Salutem, Blain Southern, 2013
Awards & Grants
- 2023, Mary Vorse House Artist Residency, Provincetown, MA
- 2023, Authors’ Foundation Grant, Society of Authors
- 2020-22, Terra Foundation For American Art Academic Program Grant, Conference, American Art and the Political Imagination (March 2022)
- 2019, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Travel Grant
- 2019, SAVAnT @ CHASE Research Travel Awards Shortlist Prize
- 2018, AHRC-funded CHASE Doctoral Studentship (2018-21)
- Dissertation Award, University of Bristol: “The Window and the Void in the work of Edward Hopper”
Conferences
- Convenor: ‘American Art and the Political Imagination,’ The Courtauld Institute of Art (with Madeleine Harrison)
- Paper, “Out of Time: Edward Hopper in the 1940s”, 1940s in Focus: American Art in the Decade of Transition, The Courtauld Institute of Art (June 2021)
- Paper, “Myth and Mimicry: The Origins of Edward Hopper’s Early Oil Paintings,” Third Year PhD Symposium, The Courtauld Institute of Art (June 2021)
- Chair, Third Year PhD Symposium, 8 October 2020
- Paper, “An American Doppelganger: Edward Hopper’s Captain Ed Staples,” Dialogues: Modern and Contemporary Approaches to Politics and Place, The Courtauld Institute of Art, 5 May 2020
- Convenor: Dialogues: Modern and Contemporary Approaches to Politics and Place, The Courtauld Institute of Art, 5 May 2020
Teaching & University Roles
- 2021-22: Associate Lecturer, BA3 Lessons in Critical Interpretation, The Courtauld Institute of Art
- 2021: Guest Lecturer, Edward Hopper, MA: New York-London-Paris 1880-1940, The Courtauld Institute of Art
- 2020-21: Teaching Assistant, BA1 Foundations, The Courtauld Institute of Art
- 2020-2021: PhD Representative, The Courtauld Institute of Art
Employment
- Studio Assistant, Danny Lane Sculpture (2016-18)
- Account Manager, Albany Arts Communications (2016-17)
- Account Manager, Theresa Simon & Partners (2014-15)
- Press & Communications Officer, Blain Southern Gallery (2013-14)
- Singer-Songwriter, Musician & Producer: Louis Jerome (2018-present) White Kite (2015-2017); Fossa (2013-2015).
- Press Officer, London 2012 Cultural Olympiad (2012)
- Junior Associate, Bolton & Quinn (2012-13)
- Intern, Bolton & Quinn (2010-11)
- Intern, Victoria & Albert Museum (2008)
Media
- Review – “Edward Hopper as Puritan,” The New York Times, by Roberta Smith, 1 November 2023
- “Early Works by Edward Hopper Found to be Copies of Other Artists,” The New York Times, by Blake Gopnik, 28 September 2020
- “Art student exposes Edward Hopper as not quite the American ‘original,” The Times, by David Sanderson, 1 October 2020
- “Some of Edward Hopper’s Earliest Paintings are Copies of Other Artists’ Work,” Smithsonian Magazine, by Nora McGreevy, 1 October 2020
- “The story behind a student who discovered Edward Hopper’s earliest paintings were copies,” The Art Newspaper, by Hannah McGivern, 6 October 2020
- “Edward Hopper ‘copied other artist’s paintings’: Art student debunks legendary artist’s claim to be an ‘American original,” Daily Mail, by Jack Newman, 1 October 2020
- “Some of Edward Hopper’s Earliest Paintings Are Actually Copies He Made From a How-To Art Magazine,” Artnet, by Sarah Cascone, 30 September 2020
- “Edward Hopper’s Earliest Oil Works Are Copies of Other Paintings, Researcher Claims,” New York Observer, by Helen Holmes, 29 September 2020
- “Early Paintings by Edward Hopper Found to Be Replicated From Magazines,” Hyperallergic, by Valentina Di Liscia, 30 September 2020
Research Interests
- Edward Hopper
- American visual culture c.1850 – 1980
- The roles of race, gender and cultural politics in historic formulations of American identity
- American Realism
- New England Regionalism
- Modernism
- Experimental approaches to biographical art history