The Cat Boat

The Cat Boat reveals the artist’s intimate relationship with sailing. Hopper built his own catboat (a sailboat sporting a single sail with its mast set forward toward the bow) around the age of fifteen. This experience is materialized in the fine sturdy form of the hull and rig but also the expression of the spirit of sailing and the physicality it demands. From the dramatic vantage point of a vessel trailing in its wake, the sailboat is masterfully steered by a brawny skipper. The passengers perched on the right edge of the vessel counterbalance the energetic tilt of the hull as the taut sail catches a palpable wind gust on the Hudson River near Nyack, the artist’s hometown, located twenty-five miles north of New York. The spectacle of the scene is made explicit by Hopper’s rendering of the sea lines and chiaroscuro-effect of the figures, transforming an anecdotal moment into mythic proportions.