Art

Item Description

Maine Seacoast by J.R. Koopman

Watercolor on Paper

Framed Size: 28" x 20"

John R. Koopman was born of Dutch immigrant parents in Michigan in 1878 and died in 1949. He live at Rainbow Lakes, Denville, NJ and was educated at Ohio Northern University. He was a student of William M. Chase, Robert Henri, John Marin, and Irving Wiles.

He was a member of Salmagundi Club, the New York Watercolor Society, Advisory Board of Parson School of Design. He was an instructor of Painting at the Brooklyn Institute of Art, Brooklyn Museum School of Art, Grand Central School of Art, Montclair Museum Art School, and Roreich Museum Art School.

He exhibited regularly at New York and Boston art clubs and galleries and in most major cities in the United States.  Many of Koopman’s paintings are scenes from Maine and the northern New England coastline in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He spent many summers painting in Rockport, Maine and Gloucester, Massachusetts where he was part of the artist colonies of the time and in those places. Andrea Murray’s (Bridge Board Chair and parent) grandfather was a student of Koopman at the Grand Central Art School and traveled with him in New England to paint.

Koopman’s paintings were purchased by major art museums in Michigan and New Jersey. Andrea Murray’s grandfather inherited the bulk of Koopman’s work when he died and donated it to many museums in the east, including the Brooklyn and Boston Museums of Art. Her family still retains many of his paintings and loves to see them exhibited and enjoyed.

Upon his death, an art critic in New York City wrote, “Koopman’s life’s work consists of a comprehensive study of the art of the time. His final paintings are the sum total of this, and show an artistry unequaled in our times.”

Item can be picked up at Bridge School or shipped at highest bidders expense. 

Item Special Note

The items available on our online auction will continue to be bid upon at our LIVE EVENT on June 7 from 5:30-8:30pm at the Bridge School in Middlebury, Vermont. 

When the online auction closes on June 5th the highest online bidders become "absentee bidders" and you will have a "Bid Clerk" representing you and your highest bid at the live event. We want to make sure you have a chance to take home an amazing art piece, even if you can't be present at the event. 

Details about the LIVE event: 

On Friday, June 7 from 5:30-8:30pm, Bridge School presents Bridge to Summer, a celebration of the Art of Learning and a summer salutation. Vermont’s own LC Jazz ensemble will play classic big band music at this community-wide outdoor event, which also features an online and live auction of original art and prints from local artists and supporters. The evening of dancing, bidding, dinner and sipping will also honor local artist Chris Murray’s Bridge School Silo Mural: “We’re different, we’re the same, we’re all beautiful!”

LC Jazz is a twenty-member, non-profit organization that believes in giving back to our community. Since 1992, the band has donated thousands to music scholarships at Vergennes, Mount Abraham, and Middlebury Union High Schools. Bridge to Summer will support the band’s mission, as well as kick off Bridge School’s Future 40 Capital Campaign, as the school approaches its 40th anniversary in 2020.

Admission $10 for adults at the door. Kids 12 and under free. Dinner from Sabai Sabai Thai available to purchase at affordable prices, with inexpensive, gluten, vegan, and vegetarian-friendly options. Shacksbury Cider and Red Clover Ale Company will sell adult beverages. Non-alcoholic drinks and dessert sold by Bridge School. Parking is available next door at Woodchuck Hard Cider.

Doors open at 5:30; music begins at 5:45.