Andrew LaMar Hopkins
(American/New Orleans, b. 1977)

"Edmond Dede in Creole New Orleans", 2017

acrylic on canvas panel
signed and dated lower right, signed, titled and dated en verso.
Framed.
9" x 12", framed 13" x 16"

Literature: Elizabeth Pochoda, "A Painter Resurrects Louisiana's Vanished Creole Culture", New York Times, January 16, 2020.

Notes: A self-taught artist, Andrew Hopkins has recently garnered considerable national appreciation for his carefully composed idiosyncratic depictions of 19th-century life, specifically celebrations of Creole culture in all its complexity, including explorations of les gens de couleur libres (free people of color) and emigres (often to France). Inspired by his love of history, both regional and personal, Hopkin's clever (re)interpretations of New Orleans life has earned him a following amongst art collectors, antiquarians and historians. Concentrating on a community forgotten and infrequently portrayed, Hopkins fills his paintings with characters who too often have been relegated to the historical sidelines.
The main figure of the painting offered here, the Creole musician and composer Edmond Dede, was a member of the les gens de couleur libres community. Born into a prominent black Creole family, Dede studied in Paris, eventually settling in France into an emigre community of like-minded New Orleanians of similar racial and social background: he would only return to his native city for a series of concerts. Here Hopkins portrays him as a young man seated at his piano, accompanying a beautiful Creole woman whose hair is hidden under the elaborate wrappings of a bright green tignon, the distinctive head covering mandatory for free women. This is a striking visual reference to the sumptuary laws which were implemented in New Orleans in the late 18th century as a means to exert control over mixed race Creoles. This work was illustrated in the recent New York Times review "A Painter Resurrects Louisiana's Vanished Creole Culture" of the artist's exhibition.
Hopkins has purposely chosen an interesting stylistic approach to his painting: applying swathes of bright, jewel-toned colors to his canvases with little shading, he creates intentionally flat compositions, reminiscent of early 19th-century folk art and more than suggestive of stage settings. Each detail - from the architecture to the clothing - is painstakingly researched and meticulously delineated. It is not surprising to discover that Hopkins began as an antiquarian, owning a shop in New Orleans, before embarking on an artistic career.
The National Gallery, Washington, D.C. recently acquired one of his paintings for their permanent collection.

No signs of past restorations. Surface imperfections, upper left (jacket of man in portrait) and lower left (jacket tails and carpet), which appear to be hand of the artist. Modern frame. Surface marks, nicks and abrasions.