Tracy Hoppin

Tracy Hoppin was brought up in Providence and graduated from Harvard in 1893. As an undergraduate he was the college tennis champion, and he played a first-class game until late in life.

He started at the Harvard Law School; but he did not like it, and after a year he left and went abroad to attend to some family business. He was then taken very ill, and, being incapacitated for a long time, he began during his convalescence to cultivate an interest and talent for painting. On his full recovery he studied with great intensity, first at the Artists League in New York and then at the Beaux-Arts.

He did some portraits, but his main interest was landscapes. His work was in the tradition of the French impressionist school, after the manner of Monet and Manet, and his interpretations emphasized outdoor color and light. There is a sort of reserved delicacy about his paintings that is very pleasant.

What he was is perhaps more important than any particular thing that he did. He traveled all over the world, and acquired a knowledge of curious and interesting things that go on, so that his mind was enlarged and his understanding of men and their doings was broad and tolerant. He was exceedingly kind, especially to other painters, and gave generously of his time and effort to get them started. His influence on those about him was profound and lasting, and this is probably the really big contribution he made to the world, for he created an atmosphere where friendliness flourished and the world seemed good; and when men were with him they were refreshed and encouraged.

He was a member of the Century for forty-five years.

George W. Martin
1959 Century Association Yearbook