
Introduction: Toby Kamps with Anne Doran
Critics Page
The life and career of Walter Hopps is legendary. His obituary in The Washington Post described him as a “sort of a gonzo museum directorelusive, unpredictable, outlandish in his range, jagged in his vision, heedless of rules.”

On Walter Hopps
by Terrell JamesCritics Page
Walter Hopps’s arrival in Houston introduced a new and lively context to us artists. We all learned so much from his curatorial work and the way he installed shows at the Menil Collection. It was impeccable: the perfect height, the perfect space between pieces, and of course astute and telling relationships between works.

On Walter Hopps
by Sarah C. BancroftCritics Page
For a time, if my phone rang before 7:00 a.m., I knew it was either my mother or Walter Hopps.
Smoking Walter
by Nancy KienholzCritics Page
There are so many memories associated with Walter. Let’s just think about how he smoked.
On Walter Hopps
by Susan DavidsonCritics Page
My first encounter with Walter Hopps was more characteristic of him than I realized at the time. I surely did not expect that rendezvoussuch as it wasto develop into one of my most important professional friendships, let alone to offer me first-row center seat access to one of great curatorial minds of the twentieth century.
On Walter Hopps
by Neil PrintzCritics Page
I met Walter Hopps in September 1975 during my year as a museum fellow at the National Collection of Fine Arts in Washington D.C. (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum).
On Walter Hopps
by David SalleCritics Page
Walter was a prodigious talker. There was a time when we spoke on the phone every few weeks, seldom for less than an hour.
On Walter Hopps
by Don QuaintanceCritics Page
The Suspect: Milton Ernest Rauschenberg (a.k.a. Robert or, to accomplices, “Bob”). The Case: 1950s era crimes against prevailing aesthetic norms. The Private Dick: Walter Wain Hopps III (a.k.a. “Chico”)
On Walter Hopps
by Michael McCallCritics Page
It was a cold December night in 1978 when I finally met him. Having recently moved to DC, I had been told he was the man to know. It took a month to find him.