~little Galen steals the show !!


ok . . . so after proclaiming it – the YEAR OF THE BOY !! – of course, along comes a little girl – to steal the spotlight !! tiny GALEN HOPPER, above with her dad, DENNIS HOPPER at the last known public sighting of her famous artist/photog/collector/actor rebel dad . . . at the opening of his one-man retrospective show – ‘Signs of the Times’ – at the TONY SHAFRAZI GALLERY, last SEPT 12, 2009 – in NYC.


GALEN HOPPER – obviously the apple of her dad’s eye, is apparently his majority heir. PAGE SIX reports today, that: “the Dennis Hopper estate cleaned up this week at a Christie’s contemporary-art auction. The ‘Easy Rider’ star, who died in May (2010), was an avid collector as well as a painter and photographer himself. Forty works he owned, including pieces by ANDY WARHOL, JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT, and KEITH HARING, fetched more than $10 million, almost double the minimum estimate. Hopper’s oldest daughter MARIN . . . confirmed that Hopper’s youngest child, 7-year-old GALEN, will receive 40 percent of the estate to be held in trust.”


HENRY HOPPER, the youngest son of DENNIS HOPPER, from a different mom – was also at the opening.
He seemed like a really sweet, smart kid too. studying painting at Cal Arts, at the time.
see: more pix from the SEPT 12, 2009 opening !!


DENNIS HOPPER at the opening of his New York City retrospective: ‘Signs of the TImes’, SEPT 12, 2009.
as far as I know, these are the very last (public) photos of Dennis Hopper . . . he did not make it to the opening of the last minute ‘copy-cat’ show in L.A. he was too ill, by then.
‘DENNIS HOPPER DOUBLE STANDARD’ , Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, JULY 11 – SEPT 20, 2010.
see: DENNIS HOPPER EXHIBIT/THE INDEPENDENT


at left: DENNIS HOPPER, as we like to remember him best – the whacked-out paparazzo – in ‘APOCALYPSE NOW’ !! there were short video clips of his most famous roles – looping in the exhibit, as well some of his large billboard sign paintings, of famous contemporary artists – based on his black & white photographs – and my most fav – his early band photos. including NEIL YOUNG, and the BYRDS !!
yeah, go back & follow that artlovers archival link !!


poignantly, on the way home I caught this wall mural by street artist – KNOW HOPE – that seemed to say it all.


detail, KNOW HOPE, signed & dated 6/2009 in the right hand corner.


detail street mural – painted on a metal storefront gate . . . KNOW HOPE – 23rd St. and 6th Ave. in Chelsea – just before you hit the HOTEL CHELSEA. it’s not there any more.

PHOTOS: COPYRIGHT NANCY SMITH