In Windmill Pond, a scene captured along the coastline near the family’s home, the artist experiments with subtle washes to translate the shimmering reflections in the still pool, and his expert brushstrokes render the coarseness of the rocks and the contrast between sunlight and shadow.

More information about this painting...

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:

Collection of the artist

By descent through the artist’s family to present

Labels:

1. The American Federation of Art / Traveling Exhibition / Title: Rock and Pool / Artist: Charles Hopkinson / Return Address: Fenway Studios, Boston / Price: $250
2. The Bostonians: Painters of an Elegant Age, 1870-1930 / Museum of Fine Arts, Boston / June 11 – September 14, 1986 / The Denver Art Museum / October 25, 1986 – January 18, 1987 / Terra Museum of American Art / March 13 – May 10, 1987 / 096 / Hopkinson, Charles / Windmill Pond
3. Danforth Museum of Art / 123 Union Avenue, Framingham, Massachusetts 01701 / Charles Hopkinson: Pictures from a New England Past / Nov. 13, 1988 – Jan. 29, 1989 / 39. Windmill Pond, 1930 / Watercolor / 14 ½ x 21” / Private Collection
4. Tavern Club / 4 Boylston Place / Boston, MA 02116 / Charles Sydney Hopkinson / (1869-1962) / The Windmill Pond / Watercolor on paper, 1930 / 10x15 14 ½ x 21 / signed “Hopkinson,” lower left and right / April 8 – May 17, 2010
5. Previous Vose Galleries label, inventory no. 35982

Literature:

1. Illustrated on page 28 of the Vose Galleries exhibition catalogue, Charles S. Hopkinson: The Innocent Eye
2. The Bostonians: Painters of an Elegant Age, 1870-1930, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, exhibition catalogue, illustrated on page 183

Exhibitions:

1. The American Federation of Art Traveling Exhibition, (no date)
2. The Bostonians: Painters of an Elegant Age, 1870-1930, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, October 25 1986 – January 18, 1987 (exhibition traveled to the Denver Art Museum and the Terra Museum of American Art)
3. Charles Hopkinson: Pictures from a New England Past, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, Massachusetts, November 13, 1988 – January 29, 1989
4. Tavern Club, Boston, Massachusetts, April 8 – May 17, 2010
5. Charles S. Hopkinson: The Innocent Eye, Vose Galleries LLC, Boston, June 8 – July 20, 2013