Hoover was born in Bay Shore, New York as Nancy Dodge Browne and died in Berlin June 9, 2008 as Nancy Hefty-Browne.

Early on, Hoover was committed to becoming an artist.
The choice between dance and the visual arts was decided in favour of painting and sculpture, mediums that allowed her an independent creative exploration.
Studies at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C. from 1950 - 1955 were followed by exhibitions of her sculptures, paintings and drawings, first in Washington and later in New York City.
Her earliest dated works used expressive strokes, concentrated on individual figures with minimal background information and were largely executed in earthen tones.
Her interest in the human body and human psychology was too great to embrace an abstract expressionist style.
Sometimes the figures would display physical abnormalities and/or be seen from unusual perspectives that indicated vulnerable socio-psychological or emotional states and thus contributed to the impression of being surreal.
Isolated full figure studies and enigmatic relations between two or more figures predominate.
She was also interested in the secrets of light.
Her curiosity was enhanced through her visits to the Rembrandt van Rijn studies in oils in the Washington National Gallery of Art.

In 1954 she married Harold Hoover.
Between 1954 and 1958 they had three children.
During this time a few of her paintings vaguely reflect upon family topics such as mother and child or child and parents, but are not autobiographical in nature.

Hoover's first trip to Europe was in 1962.
During the six months she was there she stayed in Paris, where she did small paintings and drawings.
She also visited Berlin and mentioned in her curriculum vita of 1990 how moved she was by the recently built dividing wall.
She returned to New York City.

In 1969 she visited Dutch friends in London and Amsterdam and decided, after having found a gallery in Amsterdam, to sublet her loft in New York and return to Amsterdam, the city with northern light and water, the city where Rembrandt lived and worked.
She would often say that she fell in love with the city.

By the end of the 1960s Hoover had reduced her figures to flat planes and contours before primary hues of red, blue and yellow.
This was followed up by secondary colours and sexual, even aggressive poses.

In 1971 she was introduced to Karel Appel, Dutch painter, sculptor and poet, who was looking for a caretaker for his Château Molesmes in France.
Between 1971 and 1973 she would work at the château in France and commute to Amsterdam for exhibitions.

In 1973 she met the Dutch painter Richard Hefti.
Through him she had access to a video camera and began in 1973 to experiment with it.
In January 1974 she did her first street performance in Berlin.
All her videos were produced in her studio before a fixed video camera and without post-editing.
The closely cropped glimpses of the artist's body and dark and light contrasts have a nuanced visual flow and intimacy.

In 1975 she and Richard Hefti married and she took on Dutch citizenship.
In 1976 she made the acquaintance of Wies Smals, who opened the first multimedia space de Appel in Amsterdam.
This alternative space rapidly became a lively centre of artistic exchange and provided Hoover with an invaluable support system.
A measure of the international recognition of Hoover's art occurred in 1977 when she participated in the documenta 6 in Kassel and had screenings of her videotapes at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
She made her first colour videotape in 1978, "Impressions" (1978, colour, sound, 9'45").
While it is a performance of the hand interacting with and at times intercepting a light beam, it also seems at one point to visualize "writing with light", when the end of her index finger is positioned on the light beam.

That same year she teamed up with the artist Sam Schoenbaum and did a performance tour through New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Montreal.
In 1979 she teamed up with Peter Ungerleider to do a tour called "Lapses and Dissolves" whi
Hoover was born in Bay Shore, New York as Nancy Dodge Browne and died in Berlin June 9, 2008 as Nancy Hefty-Browne.
Early on, Hoover was committed to becoming an artist. The choice between dance and the visual arts was decided in favour of painting and sculpture, mediums that allowed her an independent creative exploration. Studies at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C. from 1950 - 1955 were followed by exhibitions of her sculptures, paintings and drawings, first in Washington and later in New York City. Her earliest dated works used expressive strokes, concentrated on individual figures with minimal background information and were largely executed in earthen tones. Her interest in the human body and human psychology was too great to embrace an abstract expressionist style. Sometimes the figures would display physical abnormalities and/or be seen from unusual perspectives that indicated vulnerable socio-psychological or emotional states and thus contributed to the impression of being surreal. Isolated full figure studies and enigmatic relations between two or more figures predominate. She was also interested in the secrets of light. Her curiosity was enhanced through her visits to the Rembrandt van Rijn studies in oils in the Washington National Gallery of Art.
In 1954 she married Harold Hoover. Between 1954 and 1958 they had three children. During this time a few of her paintings vaguely reflect upon family topics such as mother and child or child and parents, but are not autobiographical in nature.
Hoover's first trip to Europe was in 1962. During the six months she was there she stayed in Paris, where she did small paintings and drawings. She also visited Berlin and mentioned in her curriculum vita of 1990 how moved she was by the recently built dividing wall. She returned to New York City.
In 1969 she visited Dutch friends in London and Amsterdam and decided, after having found a gallery in Amsterdam, to sublet her loft in New York and return to Amsterdam, the city with northern light and water, the city where Rembrandt lived and worked. She would often say that she fell in love with the city.
By the end of the 1960s Hoover had reduced her figures to flat planes and contours before primary hues of red, blue and yellow. This was followed up by secondary colours and sexual, even aggressive poses. 
In 1971 she was introduced to Karel Appel, Dutch painter, sculptor and poet, who was looking for a caretaker for his Château Molesmes in France. Between 1971 and 1973 she would work at the château in France and commute to Amsterdam for exhibitions.
In 1973 she met the Dutch painter Richard Hefti. Through him she had access to a video camera and began in 1973 to experiment with it. In January 1974 she did her first street performance in Berlin. All her videos were produced in her studio before a fixed video camera and without post-editing. The closely cropped glimpses of the artist's body and dark and light contrasts have a nuanced visual flow and intimacy.
In 1975 she and Richard Hefti married and she took on Dutch citizenship. In 1976 she made the acquaintance of Wies Smals, who opened the first multimedia space de Appel in Amsterdam. This alternative space rapidly became a lively centre of artistic exchange and provided Hoover with an invaluable support system. A measure of the international recognition of Hoover's art occurred in 1977 when she participated in the documenta 6 in Kassel and had screenings of her videotapes at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. She made her first colour videotape in 1978, "Impressions" (1978, colour, sound, 9'45"). While it is a performance of the hand interacting with and at times intercepting a light beam, it also seems at one point to visualize "writing with light", when the end of her index finger is positioned on the light beam.
That same year she teamed up with the artist Sam Schoenbaum and did a performance tour through New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Montreal. In 1979 she teamed up with Peter Ungerleider to do a tour called "Lapses and Dissolves" whi
Nan Hoover