Edward Hopper - Dyer Cove

- History and Art -
Edward Hopper
Dyer Cove, Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Summers - 1927 and 1929

"I come here to rest and to paint a little," said Edward Hopper while in Maine.

Edward Hopper and his wife Jo lived in New York, and drove in their new Dodge to Cape Elizabeth, Maine to stay and paint in 1927 and again in 1929, arriving on July 4th.

1
Rocks and Cove
(Dyer Cove and Dyer Point in the distance)
Edward Hopper (1882-1967), American
Watercolor and graphite pencil on paper,
18" x 12" (w x h), 1929

Dyer Point in the distance across Dyer Cove, is the same place in the Postcard poem photo. After painting my watercolor, Dyer Point (above), I discovered Hopper's painting of the same small point of land.

Hopper painted his watercolor from the southwest shore of Dyer Cove, while I painted mine on Dyer Point (next posting), standing in the middle of the red oval looking to the end of the point, two different perspectives.

2
Coast Guard Cove
Edward Hopper (1882-1967), American
Watercolor and pencil on paper,
20" x 14" (w x h), 1929
Christies 2023 auction sold $1,986,000 USD
From the Paul Allen Collection

This Coast Guard boat at Dyer Cover is also see below in a postcard and another watercolor...

Note the small building on the slope of the Two Lights Lighthouse. It appears in a second watercolor of Dyer Cove and a postcard circa 1920s-1930s below.

3
Rocky Cove II
Edward Hopper (1882-1967), American
Watercolor and graphite pencil on paper,
20" x 14" (w x h), 1929
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY

The northwest view across Dyer Cove, note the small building on the Two Lights lighthouse. slope.

The Coast Guard Station is painted red in this old postcard, date unknown. Note the building on the slope on the other side of Dyer Cove.

4
Coast Guard Station, Two Lights, Maine
Edward Hopper (1882-1967, American
Watercolor, gouache and charcoal on paper,
20" x 14" (w x h) 1927
The MET, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Built in 1887, the Public Works Administration funded a project in 1933 to rebuild the station buildings. The station was still an active until July 1964, when it was turned over to General Services Administration.

Postcard circa 1920s-1930s of Dyer's Cove featuring the Coast Guard Station and ramp, both not here in 2023. It's now a parking lot where I parked my car and noticed the cement outlines of a foundation, though at the time I had no clue that its was the former Coast Guard Station. However, I noted the square building on the right, built after 1925, and it's surrounding chain link railing, possibly still part of the government property.

The coast guard boat in this 1920s-1930s postcard is likely the same boat that Hopper painted in 1929, below...

5
Coast Guard Boat I
Edward Hopper (1882-1967), American
Watercolor and pencil on paper, 20" x 14" (w x h), 1929
Christies 2014 auction sold $1,745,000 USD

The beach at Dyer Cove is still here.