Walter Hopps
Encyclopedia
Walter Hopps (May 3, 1932 – March 20, 2005) was an American
museum director and curator
of contemporary art
. His obituary in the Washington Post described him as a "sort of a gonzo museum director -- elusive, unpredictable, outlandish in his range, jagged in his vision, heedless of rules."
Hopps was born in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California
. In 1955, he opened the Syndell Gallery, where his exhibitions included Action 1 and Action 2. In 1957, he founded the Ferus Gallery
, Los Angeles
in partnership with Ed Kienholz, leaving in 1962 to become the director of the Pasadena Museum of Art, now Norton Simon Museum
, where he mounted the first museum retrospectives of Kurt Schwitters
, Joseph Cornell
and Marcel Duchamp
, as well as the first overview of American Pop Art
, New Painting of Common Objects
. His unconventional administrative skills led to him being fired in 1967. Notoriously unavailable when needed, his amused, bemused, and frustrated staff at the Pasadena Museum created buttons reading "Walter Hopps will be here in 20 minutes." These buttons were recreated at the Corcoran Gallery during his tenure there. Leaving Pasadena, he became the director of the Washington Gallery of Modern Art
. In 1970, Hopps was appointed director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, of which the Washington Gallery of Modern Art had been a short-lived subsidiary, and was there until 1972. He was the U.S. commissioner of the 1972 Venice Biennale. From 1972 to 1979, he was curator of 20th-Century American Art at the Smithsonian's National Collection of Fine Arts (now the National Museum of American Art). He commented to an interviewer about that period, saying that working for bureaucrats at NCFA was "like moving through an atmosphere of Seconal."
He was a master at "curating outside the box." Shows such as "Thirty-Six Hours," 1978, at MOTA (the Museum of Temporary Art) in which he hung the work of all comers over a one-and-a-half-day period, which brought a seemingly endless procession of artists, both well-known and totally unknown, were impressarial events that enlivened the art community in which they occurred.
In 1979, Hopps became a consultant to the Menil Foundation, becoming director in 1980. He was the director of the Menil Collection
museum when it opened in 1987, but was eventually demoted to curator of 20th-century art. He died in Los Angeles
.
In 2001, the Menil Foundation established the Walter Hopps Award for Curatorial Achievement.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
museum director and curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
of contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
. His obituary in the Washington Post described him as a "sort of a gonzo museum director -- elusive, unpredictable, outlandish in his range, jagged in his vision, heedless of rules."
Hopps was born in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California
Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California
In 1909, Hill Avenue, now Hill Drive, was one of Eagle Rock's most beautiful streets. Other streets were Royal Drive , Acacia Street , Kenilworth Avenue , Highland Avenue , and Fairmont Avenue...
. In 1955, he opened the Syndell Gallery, where his exhibitions included Action 1 and Action 2. In 1957, he founded the Ferus Gallery
Ferus Gallery
The Ferus Gallery was a contemporary art gallery operating from 1957-1966. In 1957 it was located at 736-A North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, California...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in partnership with Ed Kienholz, leaving in 1962 to become the director of the Pasadena Museum of Art, now Norton Simon Museum
Norton Simon Museum
The Norton Simon Museum is an Art Museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known by the names: the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum.-Overview:...
, where he mounted the first museum retrospectives of Kurt Schwitters
Kurt Schwitters
Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters was a German painter who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including Dada, Constructivism, Surrealism, poetry, sound, painting, sculpture, graphic design, typography and what came to be known as...
, Joseph Cornell
Joseph Cornell
Joseph Cornell was an American artist and sculptor, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage...
and Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
, as well as the first overview of American Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
, New Painting of Common Objects
New Painting of Common Objects
The exhibition "New Painting of Common Objects" at the Pasadena Art Museum in 1962 was the first museum survey of American pop art. The eight artists included were: Roy Lichtenstein, Jim Dine, Andy Warhol, Phillip Hefferton, Robert Dowd, Edward Ruscha, Joe Goode and Wayne Thiebaud...
. His unconventional administrative skills led to him being fired in 1967. Notoriously unavailable when needed, his amused, bemused, and frustrated staff at the Pasadena Museum created buttons reading "Walter Hopps will be here in 20 minutes." These buttons were recreated at the Corcoran Gallery during his tenure there. Leaving Pasadena, he became the director of the Washington Gallery of Modern Art
Washington Gallery of Modern Art
The Washington Gallery of Modern Art was a short-lived gallery promoting contemporary art near Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, USA, during the 1960s. Its collection of 153 works was purchased by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in 1968 for $110,000...
. In 1970, Hopps was appointed director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, of which the Washington Gallery of Modern Art had been a short-lived subsidiary, and was there until 1972. He was the U.S. commissioner of the 1972 Venice Biennale. From 1972 to 1979, he was curator of 20th-Century American Art at the Smithsonian's National Collection of Fine Arts (now the National Museum of American Art). He commented to an interviewer about that period, saying that working for bureaucrats at NCFA was "like moving through an atmosphere of Seconal."
He was a master at "curating outside the box." Shows such as "Thirty-Six Hours," 1978, at MOTA (the Museum of Temporary Art) in which he hung the work of all comers over a one-and-a-half-day period, which brought a seemingly endless procession of artists, both well-known and totally unknown, were impressarial events that enlivened the art community in which they occurred.
In 1979, Hopps became a consultant to the Menil Foundation, becoming director in 1980. He was the director of the Menil Collection
Menil Collection
The Menil Collection, located in Houston refers either to a museum that houses the private art collection of founders John de Menil and Dominique de Menil, or to the collection itself...
museum when it opened in 1987, but was eventually demoted to curator of 20th-century art. He died in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
In 2001, the Menil Foundation established the Walter Hopps Award for Curatorial Achievement.
External links
- Interview with Hans-Ulrich Obrist in Artforum, Feb 1996
- Reflections on Walter Hopps in Los Angeles by Ken Allan in X-TRA : Contemporary Art Quarterly