Edna Boies Hopkins (October 13, 1872 – March 24, 1937) was an American artist who made

woodblock prints Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later on paper. Each page or image is creat ...

, based upon Japanese

ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...

art and

Arthur Wesley Dow Arthur Wesley Dow (April 6, 1857 – December 13, 1922) was an American painter, printmaker, photographer and an arts educator. Early life Arthur Wesley Dow was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1857. Dow received his first art training in 188 ...

's formula of three main elements: '' notan'', a balance of light and dark, line and color.

Early life and education

Edna Bel Beachboard was born on October 13, 1872 in

Hudson, Michigan Hudson is a city in Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,415 at the 2020 census. The city is mostly surrounded by Hudson Township, but the two are administered autonomously. History Hudson was named for Dr. Danie ...

to Cotilda C. Sawyer and David J. Beachboard, vice president of Boies State Bank. Her sole sibling was Earl James, who died in 1887 at the age of 16 from

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

. On March 2, 1892, at 19 years of age, she married 27 year-old banker John Henry Boies. Like the Bearchboards, he was a prominent member of the community. Boies accepted a position in the banking industry in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and the couple moved there. He contracted tuberculosis and Edna and John moved to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

to recuperate in the drier climate. He died in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

on December 10, 1894. Edna Boies maintained a close relationship with her sister-in-law, Bessie Boies. After John Boies died, she enrolled in the

Art Academy of Cincinnati The Art Academy of Cincinnati is a private college of art and design in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded as the McMicken School of Design in 1869, and was a department of the University of Cincinnati, and later in 1887, became the Art Academy ...

in 1895. Edna studied illustration, life drawing, wood carving, and sculpture until 1899. While there, she met fellow student James Roy Hopkins of

Mechanicsburg, Ohio Mechanicsburg is a village in Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,681 at the 2020 census. History Mechanicsburg was platted in 1814. The village was so named for the fact a large share of its settlers worked as mechan ...

. She shared an interest in woodblock printing with fellow students, Maud Hunt Squire and Ethel Mars, who became members of the

Provincetown Printers Provincetown Printers were a group of artists, most of them women, who created art using woodblock printing techniques in Provincetown, Massachusetts during the early 20th-century. It was the first group of its kind in the United States, developed ...

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

, Massachusetts. Boies then moved to New York and beginning in April 1899, she studied with Evelyn Fenner Shaurman and Arthur Wesley Dow at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. She studied commercial art, composition, and watercolor until March 1900. Dow introduced her to ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock printing, and a formula of three main elements: ''notan'', a balance of light and dark, line and color. ''Circa'' 1900, Boies carved ''Enchanted Lilies'', one of her first woodblock prints.

Career

Boies taught traditional forms of art,

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

, and techniques that she learned from Dow at

Veltin School for Girls Veltin School for Girls was a private school founded by Louise Veltin in 1886 in Manhattan, New York. Veltin and Isabelle Dwight Sprague Smith were the school's principals. The school was initially located at 175 West 73rd Street, but moved in ...

by March 1900. She married James Roy Hopkins on September 13, 1904. They travelled to the Far East and Africa and then moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. They lived there until the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when they returned to the United States and settled in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. A special exhibition of Hopkins' color woodcuts was held at the

Cincinnati Art Museum The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ...

in fall 1914. An exhibit of her work was held at the Women's Art Club in December. Her husband's career required him to stay in Ohio, but Hopkins spent summers in

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Provi ...

. She rented a studio in New York over several visits to the city. The couple moved to Paris by 1920 and lived there for three years. It is thought that Hopkins stopped making works of art due to arthritis. Edna Hopkins died at Harper Hospital in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, most likely of ovarian cancer, on March 24, 1937.

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Early life and education

Career

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Further reading