Working from the Curtis estate, dubbed “Sharksmouth,” Hopkinson spent summers painting by the ocean, often using family members and the picturesque surrounding landscape as inspirations for his oils and watercolors. Looking out to Sea from Piazza was part of the gallery’s 1991 show and captures the blue expanse of the Atlantic as seen from the family’s porch. Hopkinson has rendered the scene with his distinctive vibrant palette and loose brushstrokes, the details in the bright red flowers and the shadows of the trellis contrasting with the large swathes of color used to depict the verdant lawn and calm, blue sea.

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Alternately calling themselves “The Four,” “The Five,” and the “Society of Watercolorists,” Hopkinson, Charles Hovey Pepper, Carl Gordon Cutler, Harley Perkins and Marion Monks Chase sought to increase the awareness of modern art in the Boston area, introducing a new visual language to a traditionally minded public. 

Hopkinson’s experimentations in color theory resulted in a modern, fauvist style of painting, drastically different from the earlier portraits, but of an equally notable quality. While Hopkinson received mixed reviews of these works, his efforts were rewarded with medals at the National Academy of Design, the Saint Louis Exposition, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago. Enjoying a remarkably long and successful career, Hopkinson continuously challenged himself as an artist. The resulting body of work is both refreshing in its daring and familiar in its praise of natural beauty.

Provenance:

Private collection, descended through the artist’s family

With Vose Galleries, Boston, inventory number CH-12B, July 1991

To private collection, Darien, Connecticut, October 1991 to present

Labels:

1. Previous Vose Galleries label, inventory #CH-12B
2. Hopkinson estate stamp

Exhibitions:

Charles S. Hopkinson, N. A.: Moods and Moments, Vose Galleries, Boston, October 2 – December, 1991