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Edward Hopper

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Nighthawks. 1942. Art Institute of Chicago.

Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American painter and printmaker best remembered for his eerily realistic depictions of solitude in contemporary American life. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching.

Life

Born in Nyack, New York to a prosperous dry-goods merchant, Hopper studied commercial art and painting in New York City. One of his teachers, artist Robert Henri, encouraged his students to use their art to "make a stir in the world". Henri, an influence on Hopper, motivated students to render realistic depictions of urban life. Henri's students, many of whom developed into important artists, became known as the Ashcan School of American art.

Upon completing his formal education, Hopper made three trips to Europe to study the emerging art scene there, but unlike many of his contemporaries who imitated the abstract cubist experiments, the idealism of the realist painters resonated with Hopper. His early projects reflect the realist influence.

While he worked for several years as a commercial artist, Hopper continued painting. In 1925 he produced House by the Railroad, a classic work that marks his artistic maturity. The piece is the first of a series of stark urban and rural scenes that uses sharp lines and large shapes, played upon by unusual lighting to capture the lonely mood of his subjects. He derived his subject matter from the common features of American life — gas stations, motels, the railroad, or an empty street.

Hopper continued to paint in his old age, dividing his time between New York City and Truro, Massachusetts. He died in 1967, in his studio near Washington Square, in New York City. His wife, painter Josephine Nivison, who died 10 months later, bequeathed his work to the Whitney Museum of American Art. Other significant paintings by Hopper are at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Des Moines Art Center, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Works

Themes

The best known of Hopper's paintings, Nighthawks (1942), shows customers sitting at the counter of an all-night diner. The diner's harsh electric light sets it apart from the gentle night outside. The diners, seated at stools around the counter, appear isolated.

Hopper's rural New England scenes, such as Gas (1940), are no less meaningful. In terms of subject matter, he can be compared to his contemporary, Norman Rockwell, but while Rockwell exulted in the rich imagery of small-town America, Hopper depicts it in the same sense of forlorn solitude that permeates his portrayal of city life. Here too, Hopper's work exploits vast empty spaces, represented by a lonely gas station astride an empty country road and the sharp contrast between the natural light of the sky, moderated by the lush forest, and glaring artificial light coming from inside the gas station.

Selected works

  • Night Shadows (1921) (etching) [1]
  • The New York Restaurant (c. 1922) [2]
  • House by the Railroad (1925) [3]
  • Automat (1927)
  • Night Windows (1928) [4]
  • Chop Suey (1929)
  • Early Sunday Morning (1930) [5]
  • Room in New York (1932) [6]
  • The Long Leg (1935) [7]
  • House at Dusk (1935) [8]
  • Compartment C, Car 293 (1938) [9]
  • New York Movie (1939) [10]
  • Ground Swell (1939) [11]
  • Gas (1940) [12]
  • Office at Night (1940) [13]
  • Nighthawks (1942)
  • Rooms for Tourists (1945) [14]
  • Rooms by the Sea (1951) [15]
  • Morning Sun (1952) [16]
  • Office in a Small City (1953)
  • Excursion into Philosophy (1959) [17]
  • People in the Sun (1960) [18]
  • Sun in an Empty Room (1963) [19]
  • Chair Car (1965) [20]
  • The Lighthouse At Two Lights (1929) [21]

Exhibitions

In 2004, a large selection of Hopper's paintings toured through Europe, visiting Cologne, Germany and Tate Modern in London. The Tate exhibition became the second most popular in the gallery's history, with 420,000 visitors in the three months it was open.

In 2007, an exhibition focusing on the period of Hopper’s greatest achievements—from about 1925 to mid-century— was under way at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The exhibit comprises fifty oil paintings, thirty watercolors, and twelve prints, including the favorites Nighthawks, Chop Suey, and Lighthouse and Buildings, Portland Head, Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The exhibition was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and The Art Institute of Chicago.

Influence

Hopper's influence on the art world and pop culture is undeniable. Homages to Nighthawks featuring cartoon characters or famous pop culture icons such as James Dean and Marilyn Monroe are often found in poster stores and gift shops. Although this example does not, Hopper often used his wife as the model for female figures. The cable television channel Turner Classic Movies sometimes runs a series of animated clips based on Hopper paintings before they air their films.

Hopper's cinematic wide compositions and dramatic use of lights and darks has also made him a favorite among filmmakers. For example, House by the Railroad is said to have heavily influenced the iconic house in the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho. The same painting has also been cited as being an influence on the home in the Terrence Malick film Days of Heaven.

To establish the lighting of scenes in the 2002 film Road to Perdition, director Sam Mendes drew from the paintings of Hopper as a source of inspiration, particularly New York Movie.[1]

In 2004 British guitarist John Squire (formerly of The Stone Roses fame) released a concept album based on Hopper's work entitled Marshall's House. Each song on the album inspired by, and sharing its title with, a painting by Hopper.

Polish composer Paweł Szymański's Compartment 2, Car 7 for violin, viola, cello and vibraphone (2003) was inspired by Hopper's Compartment C, Car 293. [22]

German film director Wim Wenders's 1997 film The End of Violence incorporates a tableau vivant of Nighthawks, recreated by actors.

Each of the 12 chapters in New Zealander Chris Bell (author)'s 2004 novel Liquidambar (UKA Press/PABD) interprets one of Hopper's paintings to create a surreal detective story.

Hopper's influence even reached the Japanese animation world in the dark cyberpunk thriller Texhnolyze. Hopper's artwork was used as the basis for the surface world in Texhnolyze.

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Ray Zone. "A Master of Mood". American Cinematographer. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
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