Stephen Hannock
Stephen W. Hannock (born March 31, 1951) is an American painter known for his atmospheric landscapes––compositions of flooded rivers, nocturnes and large vistas––which often incorporate text inscriptions that relate to family, friends or events of daily life.
While at Smith College, Hannock caught the eye of sculptor and printmaker Leonard Baskin with whom he apprenticed for several years creating anatomical drawings, woodcuts, sculptures and paintings.
While studying with Leonard Baskin, Hannock began experimenting with phosphorescent paints, creating large scale, imaginary landscapes that glow when placed under black lights.
Hannock relied on grants from patron Irene Mennen Hunter––along with odd jobs and occasional work as a fashion model––to pay for studio space and groceries.
In 1991, restaurant owner Danny Meyer and his partner/chef Tom Colicchio approached Hannock with the idea that he work with architect Peter Bentel on the interior of their New York City project, Gramercy Tavern, which opened in 1994.
To date, Hannock has created over a dozen paintings for the team's restaurants, including a huge canvas of the Chelsea Highline at Colicchio and Sons on the Hudson River in New York City.
[2][5] Also part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is the artist's painting Kaaterskill Falls for Frank Moore and Dan Hodermarsky, acquired in 2007.
[7] In 2002, the musician Sting commissioned Hannock to make a painting of his home city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England to mark the 2004 grand opening of The Sage Gateshead––a performing arts center designed by Sir Norman Foster.
Note: In 2007, the Whitney Museum of American Art acquired one of Hannock's works––Maternal Nocturne: Clearing Storm (Mass MoCA #66-C); polished mixed media on envelope over Chuck Close daguerreotype; 2007.
[11] In autumn, 2013, Stephen Hannock became the first American artist to be signed by Marlborough Fine Art, London, since Richard Diebenkorn 40 years before.
Jason Rosenfeld, Ph.D., Distinguished Chair and Professor of Art History at Marymount Manhattan College, New York, curated the show of thirteen paintings and wrote in the accompanying catalogue: “Hannock’s approach involves an intricate layering of glazes of subtly modulated acrylic or oil across the prepared surfaces, repeatedly honing down the paint using power sanders, veneering the final sanded pigment layer with sheets of reflective resin, and then polishing that down to a matte sheen.
"[13] In 2013, Hannock received the Olana Partnership Frederic E. Church Award along with co-honoree Elizabeth Broun, the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
In 2014, the Yale University Art Gallery acquired Hannock’s 2013 painting The Oxbow for Frank Moore and Dan Hodermarsky (Mass MoCA #196).
A New York Times review of the show, stated: “Rivercrossings is the project of the luminist painter Stephen Hannock, whose contemporary style owes much to the Hudson River School’s monumental studio work.
"[14] In the fall of 2015, Two Ponds Press of Camden, Maine will publish a limited edition book––The Last Ship, from the River of the Northern City––a three-year collaboration between Hannock and his long-time friend, the musician Sting.
