Edward Hopper seems to be popular on both sides of the political fence in his home state of New York. A bill recently passed in the state legislature to establish the Edward Hopper Citation of Merit, was sponsored in the Assembly by the Democrat Ellen Jaffee, who represents Hopper’s native Rockland County, and in the Senate by the Republican Barbara Little, who represents Warren County.
The $10,000 award will be presented biennially to “a distinguished New York visual artist who is making a significant contribution to the advancement of the arts in New York State”, according to the bill, and aims to both honour the late artist and support contemporary art. Recipients will have two state-subsidised public exhibitions over the two years they serve as the official “State Visual Artist”—one at The Edward Hopper House Art Center, the artist’s birthplace in Nyack, New York.
The bill must now be signed into law by the state governor Andrew Cuomo. In the meantime, the timeline and criteria for selecting a recipient remain in the planning stages, says Carole Perry, the executive artistic director of the Edward Hopper House. But Perry, who will serve on the advisory panel, told The Art Newspaper: “We will embark on the process right after we get the signature by Governor Cuomo.”
