Hope Cumming Horn
For nearly 50 years, Hope Cumming Horn (1920-2001), a dedicated painter, sculptor, and educator, worked as a vibrant and defining force in the arts community of Scranton, PA. A native of the city and a graduate of Central Scranton High School, Hope received her BFA, BS in Education, and MFA degrees from the Tyler School of Fine Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. During her teaching career, she inspired hundreds of students, first as head of the Art Department for the Oak Lane Country Day School, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA; and subsequently as art instructor at the Everhart Museum, Lucan Center, and Hope Horn Studio, Scranton, PA; the Wyoming Valley Art League, Wilkes-Barre, PA; College Misericordia, Dallas, PA; Keystone College, LaPlume, PA; East Strousdburg State University, Stroudsburg, PA; and the State University of New York, Binghamton, NY.
Equally recognized for her abstract and representational pieces, Hope utilized both traditional and contemporary materials and processes with skill. As a sculptor, she produced figurative works using the lost-wax method of bronze casting, including the Guarnieri Quartet, a series of busts completed at the Fonderia Marinelli, Florence, Italy. Simultaneously, she was also interested in fabricating large-scale public sculptures like Red Wing, a welded steel geometric construction produced in collaboration with the McGregor Iron Works, Scranton, PA. As a painter, Hope worked with egg tempera and glazes to create trompe l'oeil still life pieces like Blue Spoon. Her meticulous devotion to detail and technique did not detract from her witty assessment of modern art trends: her minimal painting Blank was a painstaking depiction of an empty white canvas. Hope exhibited widely, with shows at the Everhart Museum and Laura Craig Gallery, Scranton, PA; Locks Gallery and Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA; Roberson Museum and Two Rivers Gallery, Binghamton, NY; the C.C. Price Gallery, New York, NY; and the Strozzi Palace, Florence, Italy. Her works are represented locally in many permanent collections, including those of the Everhart and Roberson Museums.