Celebrate Edward Hopper’s Birthday with the Whitney

The Whitney Museum of American Art is teaming up with the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, OutCycling, and the Meatpacking Business Improvement District to celebrate iconic artist Edward Hopper's birthday with the first-ever Whitney Hopper Ride and activities designed for visitors of all ages.

This approximately 60-mile round trip bike ride from Manhattan's Meatpacking District to Hopper's birthplace of Nyack, New York and back will take place July 22, 2023, on what would have been Edward Hopper's 141st birthday.

Throughout the day, the Whitney will also be celebrating Edward Hopper at the Museum with several works on view and free art-making activities inspired by Hopper for kids from 11 am–3 pm. Kids (18 years and under) are always free at the Whitney.

Cyclists will start their journey early Saturday morning outside the Whitney Museum (99 Gansevoort Street, Manhattan) for registration between 7–8:30 am with light refreshments before heading north to the Edward Hopper House (82 North Broadway, Nyack). The Edward Hopper House will offer snacks, Hopper birthday activities, and tours of the artist's home, including a look at his 1897 bicycle and the exhibition Ellsworth Kelly: States of The River. At the end of the visit, riders will head back to the Whitney, which is located near the neighborhood where Hopper lived and worked for much of his life.

Each participant will receive a food voucher, as well as an exclusive Whitney Hopper Ride water bottle and two tickets to return to visit both Edward Hopper House and the Whitney.

Experienced cyclists are encouraged to sign up for the ride at outcycling.org. There is a registration fee. Space is extremely limited.

Edward Hopper's career and work have been a touchstone for the Whitney since before the Museum was founded. The Museum is home to over 3,000 artworks by Hopper, more than any other museum in the world. The Whitney also just closed its landmark exhibition Edward Hopper's New York, which generated record crowds from October 2022 until March 2023, especially amongst New Yorkers. As part of that exhibition, the Whitney created a map of New York City spots that Hopper painted.

In addition to the ride, New Yorkers can celebrate Edward Hopper any time by visiting the Whitney, which currently has Hopper's work Early Sunday Morning (1930) and several other paintings and sketches on view on the Museum's 7th Floor as part of the collection display (advanced tickets recommended; kids and teens are always free, and other discounted opportunities here). They can also visit Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center Thursday through Sunday for tours, exhibitions, and programs.

"It will be great fun to mark Edward Hopper's birthday with a ride between the places he called home," says Kim Conaty, the Whitney's Steven and Ann Ames Curator of Drawings and Prints and curator of Edward Hopper's New York, who plans to participate in the ride. "The iconic artist was also an avid cyclist in his youth and an enthusiastic spectator of bike racing in New York City, always paying close attention to the scenes around him as he rode through village roads and later explored the life and landscape of the city. The Whitney Hopper Ride will offer a window into the artist's unique and personal vision of the world, one formed in the very places we will pass through."

"This inaugural Whitney Hopper Ride is a wonderful way to bring the museum and cycling communities together to celebrate Edward Hopper on his 141st birthday," said Edward Hopper House Museum executive director Kathleen Motes Bennewitz. "In Hopper's day, the streets of Nyack were filled with 'wheelwomen' and 'wheelmen.' In his youth, the aspiring artist also wound his way with friends through the village and beyond. With the support of the Whitney Museum, Outcycling, and the Meatpacking District, this ride will offer metro area cyclists a chance to discover connections between Hopper's experiences in Nyack and New York City, and in between."

"The Meatpacking District is thrilled to partner with the Whitney Museum to bring The Hopper Ride to the cycling community," said Jeffrey LeFrancois, Executive Director of the Meatpacking District. "Innovative events are at the core of the Meatpacking District and the Whitney, and this ride introduces a whole new type of program and partnership between a business improvement district and world class museum. It's a great way to celebrate and commemorate one of America's most cherished artists, connecting a neighborhood, museum, and the Edward Hopper House all at once. Best of luck to the riders!"

"OutCycling is excited to partner with the Whitney Museum in curating The Hopper Ride for the cycling community," said Larry Kelley, Chairman of the Board, OutCycling. "Coming just over a month after running our popular annual NYC Pride Ride event, we are pleased to share our experience in managing such events, and look forward to welcoming art patrons in what are sure to be informative and stimulating stops at both ends of the relaxed-pace ride envisioned by The Whitney team. We can think of no better way to celebrate Hopper's Birthday than at his childhood home, Nyack's Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, and tracing a ride he may well have done many times ending back in Manhattan at a Museum that has some of his most impressive works for all to see."

Source: Whitney Museum