Hopewell Train Station Art and Artists

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Do you recognize these images and artists? The historic Hopewell and Pennington train stations are iconic symbols of our communities that have inspired the creativity of numerous artists, as shown in the variety of these images shared by the Hopewell Valley History Project.

This Wednesday, December 1 at 7 pm Doug Dixon will present “Hopewell Train Stations: History and Art,” a visual history of these National Register-listed train stations, illustrating their story with photographs and artwork. This talk will celebrate both the history of the railroads in the Hopewell area, and the photographers and artists who captured these past moments for us.

Come early at 6:30 pm to chat with local artists and view their work, including local artists Ken McIndoe and Jerry Cable, and the families of Sal Asaro and E. B. Walden (Gray’s Watercolors).

• You can attend the event in person at The Hopewell Theater, 5 South Greenwood in Hopewell. Masks are required in the building.

• Or you can view the event online via Zoom. Registration is required.

Click for more information and Zoom registration

This event is part of the Hopewell Public Library “Wednesday Night Out” Lecture Series, and is co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum.

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Local Artwork and Photography

While the Hopewell Valley History Project has been focused on collecting and sharing historical photos of the local area (now over 2000 images), we also have been blessed by the kindness of local artists and photographers in sharing their works and collections on the site. Beyond their artistic value, these works also can provide valuable historical information in the details that the artists have carefully captured, from now-lost buildings to the details of switches on railroad sidings.

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Local Artists at the Event

About the local artists who will be represented at the Hopewell Train Station event:

Ken McIndoe is a landscape painter who has lived in Hopewell since 1974 with his wife, potter Connie Bracci-McIndoe. He was professor of landscape painting at the Art Students League in New York City for 36 years. More on Ken McIndoe’s train station art

Jerry Cable is a Bucks County, Pennsylvania artist, teacher, and lecturer. He draws inspiration from the New Hope Impressionist School in PA, and Old Lyme Academy in CT, and paints local landscapes of Pennsylvania and New Jersey as well as the Maine Coast and Monhegan Island. More on Jerry Cable’s train station art

E. B. (Ernest) Walden (1929 – 1995) was the most prolific of the Gray’s Watercolors artists, producing hundreds of original paintings. Gray’s Watercolors was a local studio based in Wertsville and run by Paul and Wilda McConaughy. Gray’s used production line techniques to produce large numbers of hand-painted but affordable watercolor reproductions of familiar scenes from 1965 through the mid 1980’s. The company originally focused on prints of college and university buildings, and then expanded into historic prints of towns and cities with the 1976 Bicentennial. More on E. B. Walden and Gray’s

Salvatore Asaro (c1933 – 2016) was a professional artist and illustrator who was a resident of Hopewell for many years, and also painted Hopewell Borough scenes for Gray’s Watercolors. More on Sal Asaro’s train station art

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Local Artwork

Other local artists with train station and other images in the History Project Art Gallery:

Ranulph Bye (1916 – 2003) was a Bucks County artist who the golden age of railroading, with paintings of train stations from Maryland to New England, published in his book, The Vanishing Depot (1973). More on Ranulph Bye’s train station art

Ann Gross lived in Pennington and created local prints from at around the 1960s through the 1990s. More on Ann Gross’ train station art

William Joseph “Hank” Hankinson (c1922 – 1996) was a prominent professional artist who lived in Pennington for a time in the 1970s and 1980s. More on William Hankinson’s train station art –

George Stave (1923-2011) was a painter explored the back roads and small towns of New Jersey and Pennsylvania in search of visually interesting subjects, and was repeatedly drawn to nineteenth-century houses and farms, glimpses of a fading past. More on George Stave’s train station art

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Local Photographers

Local photographers with collections in the History Project Photography Gallery:

Gary Saretzky contributed a collection of 22 black and white photographs of places and events in Hopewell Borough from 1978 to 1980. He is an archivist, photographer, and educator who was Archivist of Monmouth County from 1994 to 2019, and taught photography at Mercer County Community College for 35 years. More on Gary Saretzky’s Hopewell photographs

Ken Kaplowitz contributed a collection 35 black and white photographs of Hopewell Borough people and places from 1974 to 1977. He is Emeritus Professor of Art from The College of New Jersey, where he taught for forty-nine years. More on Ken Kaplowitz’s Hopewell photographs

Ralph Curcio (1949 – 2012) was an avid enthusiast of transportation and photography who shot some 10,000 photos of trains and trolleys. His longtime friend, Daniel McFadden has been sharing this amazing photographic collection, including images from Pennington to Hopewell shot from 1976 through 1999. More on Ralph Curcio’s Hopewell area railroad photographs

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We always welcome more information on these and other artists and artwork that have captured historical scenes in the Hopewell Valley.

== View the History Project Art Gallery ==

== View the History Project Photography Gallery ==

In the Galleries, see the included documents with descriptions of the artists and their work.