Edward
Hopper, one of the most popular American artists of the mid-1900's,
was best known for his paintings which depicted the isolation of the
human condition. Born in Nyack, New York on July 22nd
1882, he was a contemporary of Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot and Ernest
Hemingway, and has been called "the poet in paint of loneliness.
(Levin, 9).
Hopper began drawing at the age of
five and practiced diligently from then onward. In his teens he
experimented with oils and water color and became quite adept in
several mediums. In the Fall of 1899, he enrolled at the New York
School of Illustrating. There, the 17 year old artist studied with
aspirations of becoming an illustrator or graphic designer.
The next year, Hopper enrolled at the
New York School of Art, a prestigious institute. There he studied
under Robert Henri, one of the prominent members of the Ashcan
School, and illustrator Arthur Ignatius Keller. Due to his talent,
Hopper was asked to stay on for an extended term at the school, and
began to instruct others in 1904.
In 1906, he was employed briefly as an
illustrator, but then departed for Europe because of his interest in
French culture. There he continued his studies under Robert Henri.
Although he studied under Henri for six years, Hopper was unable to
develop his own unique style, and supported himself through
illustration.
In 1918, at the age of thirty-six,
Hopper received his first widespread recognition by winning a war
poster contest. His entry, Smash the Hun, showed the
beginning development of his stylistic traits. Following this
success, Hopper opened his first one man exhibit at the Whitney
Studio Club. There his oil cityscapes of Paris and landscapes of
Monhegan Island, Maine were displayed.
It was not until he was nearly forty
that he began to paint scenes featuring desolate cityscapes or
those sparsely populated by human forms. The impersonal cities which
were featured in many of his paintings, were in striking contrast to
the small town of his birth, and utilized a variety of techniques
which Hopper would employ throughout his career.
By constructing objects from color,
light and shadow, he caused light to appear as though it emanated
from an object, as opposed to being cast upon it. This draws the
viewer's eye to the desired object and
also helps to establish mood.
Through the use of geometric forms, such as triangles and trapezoids
as opposed to rectangles and squares, Hopper was able to direct the
gaze of a viewer and develop the impression of movement.
Also, by having the subject's
attention directed toward an activity, an unseen distant object or a
seemingly distracted thought, Hopper invited the viewer to imagine
the personal experience of the subject.
Throughout his works, Hopper
continually drew upon themes that were as important as his stylistic
techniques. One of the most prevalent of these was that of
transience, and isolation. He frequently painted scenes involving
travel: desolate roads, and lonely hotel rooms occupied by pensive
individuals.
In
contrast to this sense of movement, Hopper's paintings captivate
viewers and ask them to imagine the story behind the scene and its
characters. As Mark Strand writes, "These two imperatives-the
one that urges us to continue and the other that compels us to
stay-create a tension that is constant in Hopper's works. (Strand, 3)
Several
of Hopper's most famous paintings illustrate his genius. In
Cape Cod Evening (1939)
, a couple stands before their whitewashed house. The man beckons
for a collie, who stands in deep, yellow grass, but the dog does not
heed his call, looking away toward the left of the canvas. Against
the house, a woman leans with her arms stiffly crossed. Her gaze is
directed toward the dog. The lack of interaction between the
subjects of the painting gives the impression of the tension between
the two, and a mood of isolation. The dog's failure to respond to
the call of his owner, gives a mood of foreboding to the scene. In
the upper left, a forest looms up, drawing the scene into chaotic
darkness.
Hopper painted House by the
Railroad, one of his most famous
paintings, in 1925. An isolated old house stands before railroad
tracks, a dignified victim of progress. The roof and the tracks form
an isosceles trapezoid (Strand, 18); this suggests movement to the
left of the canvas, from where the light comes. However, the
presence of many vertical structures in this house prevents the eye
of an observer from being drawn away. Unlike many of Hopper's other
paintings, the house exudes a sense of permanence in the face of a
temporary world, and a resistance to change.
Foremost among Hopper's paintings is
Nighthawks, 1942. This oil painting features a scene set in
an all-night diner on a lonely street corner, and embodies both
Hopper's use of light and geometry as well as mood. The street is
barren and lit by a harsh, cool light cast from the ceiling of the
diner. As with House by the Railroad, the eye is drawn right
to left, from the diner to the deserted street, not only by the
light, but also by the converging edges of the long plate glass
window.
Though three patrons are seated
inside, two men in fedoras and a red-haired woman contemplating a
cigarette, their gazes never meet. The viewer has the perception
of being a passerby, only catching a glimpse into the lonely lives of
the nighthawk diners, and yet is urged to contemplate their stories.
Rooms by the Sea,
1951, differs subtly from the other buildings painted by Hopper. The
light, which streams in from nature, urges the observer into the
cozy, well furnished room. The furnishing and the painting on the
wall indicate a sense of permanence, which is lacking in many of his
other works. Again, geometric forms are used to shape the light,
direct attention and create depth.
On
May 15, 1967, Edward Hopper died in his New York studio at the age of
85. During his lifetime he was able to craft a unique style which he
cultivated through the use of structure and mood. An influential
artist whose works provided a glimpse into the human condition, he
inspired poets, who wrote of his paintings. Although his scenes were
of a specific period, as Levin notes, "Hopper at his best
created paintings which express the psychological pulse of their time
and yet speak for all time." (Levin, 64)
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