Hopper's Studio

A photo of Hopper by Berenice Abbott hangs above the fireplace.

From 1913 until his death in 1967, Edward Hopper and his wife, Josephine, lived and worked at 3 Washington Square North in a fourth-floor walk-up studio. During last weekend’s Open House New York, I was able to take a peek inside.

Housed in one of the famed Greek Revival townhouses on the north side of Washington Square Park (now the NYU Silver School of Social Work), the studio is small and sparse but with wonderful light and a lovely view of the park below. Here Hopper created some of his most iconic works including “Nighthawks,” “Early Sunday Morning, and “New York Movie.” The large easel set up in the middle of the room made it easy to imagine those canvases resting there, the artist standing by its side.

There was a wait to get in but I didn't mind. It was surprising to see how plain the place was yet easy to imagine that the solitude under the eaves probably suited the quiet artist.

Back outside, the park was buzzing with people enjoying a warm Sunday and the local squirrels were up to their usual business of begging for food, one even going so far as to jump on a man’s lap for some trail mix. Right before I left, a rainbow appeared in front of the arch. The perfect ending to a great day.

Photos by Michele.

New York Marble Cemetery

Hidden away in the busy East Village is what appears at first to be a large garden or private park. But a closer inspection of the surrounding stonewalls reveal marble plaques bearing familiar names: Auchincloss, Ogilvie, Scribner, Comstock, Olmsted. These are just some of the roughly 2,100 people who call the New York Marble Cemetery their final home.

Founded in 1830, the cemetery was popular with prominent 19th-century families, so much so that shortly after developer Perkins Nichols built the New York City Marble Cemetery, which I visited a few years ago (read more here), down the street.

Instead of graves with tombstones, the bodies lie in their caskets ten feet below in a series of marble vaults (156 in total) that can be accessed via hidden access shafts. The plaques seen above indicate the exact location of each family’s vault. Sadly, more than half of those first interred in them in the early days of the cemetery were children, a grim reminder of the high morality rates of the time. Today, descendants of the original vault owners may use them if they wish although the last person to rest here was Charles Janeway VanZandt in 1937.

While there may be no sculptures or memorials to the dead, the cemetery is filled with flowers and trees as well as benches on which to rest, reflect, and enjoy a tiny bit of quiet while surrounded by  in the middle of a bustling city.

The New York Marble Cemetery is not open to the public on a regular basis. I was fortunate to visit on a day that it was during Open House New York. For more information, visit here.

And speaking of cemeteries, readers of this blog are familiar with my fondness for visiting the dead. Some of the other cemeteries I’ve posted about are Woodlawn Cemetery (here), Trinity Church Cemetery (here and here), the Third Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue (here), the Granary Burial Ground in Boston (here), and the San Francisco National Cemetery at the Presidio (here). All Photos by Michele.

Open House

Don’t have any plans this weekend? If you’re in New York consider attending “Open House New York,” a once a year event that celebrates architecture and design throughout the five boroughs. Hundreds of sites normally closed to the public will open their doors and other locations will host special tours, talks, and performances. There's lots to chose from. Climb to the top of the tower at the Jefferson Market Library; visit the Little Red Lighthouse; explore the Old Stone House, built in 1699; inspect the Unger Hansen Residence, an energy-efficient townhouse; wander through the Noguchi Museum, a former photoengraving plant; and more. For a full list of events visit here.

I plan on checking out the New York Marble Cemetery, Edward Hopper’s studio, and the Morris-Jumel Mansion. Can’t wait. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Image from here.