Nivision, Josephine Verstille (1883-1968)

Nivision, Josephine Verstille

PAINTER (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)

BORN 18 Mar 1883, New York City, New York: Manhattan - DIED 6 Mar 1968
GRAVE LOCATION Nyack, New York: Oak Hill Cemetery, 140 North Highland Avenue

Daughter of Eldorado Nivison, a music teacher and luckless pianist. She grew up in New York City and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1904. At the New York School of Art she met Robert Henri in 1905 and he painted her as "The Art Student" (1906). She became a school teacher in 1906 but she also continued painting and she travelled to Europe in 1907 with Henri and his students. For ten years she earned her money as a teacher.

Around 1915 she appeared as an actress in the productions of the Washington Square Players. In 1919 she lost her teaching position but after a difficult period she found another. In 1923 she developed a close relationship with Edward Hopper, whom she new from art school. They married in 1924.

She became Hopper's model and as well as his manager. as Hopper's reputation grew, her career faded after the 1920s. Their marriage wasn't easy and there were frequent fights, but they stayed together until Hopper's death in 1967.

She left their estate to the Whitney Museum of Art but that Museum never put any of her works on display since she died in 1968. Only a few of her paintings seem to have survived, the rest was discarded by the museum.

Family
• Husband: Hopper, Edward (1924-1967)

Images
The grave of Edward and Josephine Hopper at Oak Hill Cemetery, Nyack. Picture by Androom (13 Apr 2010)	The grave of Edward and Josephine Hopper at Oak Hill Cemetery, Nyack. Picture by Androom (13 Apr 2010)