Nyack’s most famous house on North Broadway was once home to the First Lady of American Theatre. On Sun May 5 you can take a rare tour of Helen Hayes’ storied house on the Hudson, Pretty Penny, to benefit Nyack’s Edward Hopper House Art Center.
Arts · News · Nyack Sketch Log
by Bill Batson
Legend has it that when Helen Hayes MacArthur first saw this fine example of Italianate architecture on North Broadway, her husband, playwright Charles MacArthur told her it would cost them a Pretty Penny. The name stuck. From 1934 until 1990, the actress who was known to the world as the First Lady of American Theater lived here in the Village of Nyack as a mother, wife, neighbor and civic leader –not as a celebrity. This week’s sketch log is composed almost entirely from remarks made by Mrs. MacArthur in a private home in Nyack sometime in the 1980′s.
Arts · News · Nyack Sketch Log
by Bill Batson
In 2004, Hopper was happening globally in London when 420,000 people visited the Edward Hopper exhibit at the Tate Gallery in only three months. In 2006, Hopper happened for comedian Steve Martin who sold Hopper’s painting Hotel Window for $26 million at a Sotheby’s auction. Locally, Hopper Happens whenever you drive past the Northwest corner of N. Broadway and School Street in Upper Nyack and see the empty storefront which was the inspiration for Hopper’s 1948 painting Seven A.M. and this week’s sketch.
Arts · News · Nyack Sketch Log
by Bill Batson
This house was saved from destruction in the early 1970s by an ad-hoc coalition that included neighbors, Rotarians, labor unions, students and artists. Not many causes can assemble such a vast cross section of humanity, fewer can inspire the kind of contributions that were necessary to restore a structure that was literally a few signatures away from condemnation. The family that once lived at this home at the intersection of North Broadway and Second Avenue provided the motivation. This is the childhood home of one of America’s greatest visual artists, Edward Hopper.
by Alison Perry
Driving up Midland Avenue late in the afternoon one day last spring, I was passing by the old Nyack High School when I suddenly turned and saw the light ‘€“ literally. Some people refer to it as ‘€œHudson River Light,’€ an intense bright light that clarifies the landscape and everything in it. The really cool part was that it was that late afternoon raking light, that special sunlight that illuminates objects at an oblique angle almost parallel to the surface of the earth, leaving deep, long shadows as a result.
by Brian Jennings
The Nyack Library has been digitizing microfilm copies of The Rockland County Journal and placing them online at news.hrvh.org. Our project began with funding from The Library Association of Rockland County (LARC) and has continued with the support of the Friends of the Nyack Library, numerous private donations, and funds from the library.
We are now taking a brand new approach to fundraising for this effort utilizing the crowd funding site Kickstarter.
News · Nyack Sketch Log · Views
by Bill Batson
The Nyack Library is an example of one of the most epic philanthropic gestures of the early 20th Century. Andrew Carnegie supported the construction of 1,689 public libraries in 1,419 communities across America. The steel magnate, who was at the time the richest man in the world, would be proud to know that in the 21st century, the construction of a modern wing doubled the space that his original building provided.
by Bill Batson
The building in Haverstraw that was the subject of Edward Hopper’s 1925 painting ‘€œHouse by the Railroad’€ still stands proud. The haunting depiction of the three story house by Hopper came to the attention of the cast and crew of Alfred Hitchcock’s movie classic, Psycho. Hopper’s painting inspired not only the design of the Bates Mansion in the 1960 production, but the mood of the film as well. From Nyack to Haverstraw to Hollywood, Hoppermania is contagious.
Arts · As Others See Us · News
Nyack, Dec 4 — The “As Others See Us” series looks at stories about Nyack as others see us from articles and stories in blogs and news media. Here are two recent posts which give us two views of how Nyack’s Edward Hopper viewed the world. One is from a fellow artist, the other provided by a learning lab for students trying to learn English — via the VOA.
Nyack, Sept 16 — When it comes to Hitchcock’s Psycho, Kris Burns has seen this movie before. But this time she hopes that the only shower scene will be on the silver screen and not on the streets of Nyack. Twice before this summer, Burns’ final Hopper Happens event — an outdoor showing of Psycho — was rained out. She’s hoping that “third times’ the charm” for the 7:30p projection on the side of the Verizon Building in downtown Nyack.
You won’t need a raincoat for Friday night, but you might need a blanket. Weather Underground says there is no chance of rain. However, the temperature may drop to 50 degrees.
Here’s the craziest part of the evening: Nyack’s Muni-Meters are free after 4p.
40 South Franklin St
Nyack, NY 10960
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Our weather forecast is from WP Wunderground
