In honor of the birthday of Edward Hopper, a post originally published the year we are reviewing past honor the life and work of the artist.
Today is the birthday of the painter and engraver Edward Hopper. The artist who created the "Nighthawks", one of the best-known American paintings, would make the 131 if he were miraculously alive today.
"Nighthawks", 1932
Hopper was born in Nyack, New York to a strict Baptist family. It is said that they have developed a talent for drawing at the age of five years, as well as a love of French and Russian culture. Encouraged by his parents, the young artist explored the media pen, charcoal, watercolour and oil, that they represent scenes of nature, as well as create their own humor political cartoons. Around the age of 18 years, he moved his conservative home on the Hudson River to study at the Institute of New York's Art Design, where he began to work with models live and paint in the style of Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas.
In 1905, Hopper began working for an advertising agency to earn money, covers magazines of design despite his dislike for the illustrations. It was during this time that he was able to travel to Europe to study artists like Rembrandt and Impressionists. Briefly inspired by the soft blades of the French painters, hopper finally settled in the scheme of dark color that would be known, painting urban scenes of street crowds and cafes through the dark lens of signature. After returning from abroad, hopper reluctantly continued to work on the illustrations, and it was not until 1913 that was able to sell his first picture, "Sailing", at the Armory Show in New York.
Hopper turned to engraving urban scenes of Paris and New York while living in Greenwich Village. In 1923, met his future wife Josephine Nivison, the woman who would serve as his manager, primary model and companion of a lifetime. From there, he began his career at foot, showing the newly created oil paintings and engravings throughout New York.
"Night train", 1918
After a brief period of inactivity during the late 1940s, hopper continued to create works throughout the next two decades, focusing on American issues par excellence such as railways, gas stations, motels and restaurants. Hopper lived through a series of artistic movements in the United States, but his style remained constant, incorporating saturated colors and higher contrast to create dark, cinematic moods of film noir. It should not be a surprise, then, Alfred Hitchcock and Sam Mendes cited frequently as an influence.
On May 15, 1967, Hopper died in his Studio near Washington Square in New York, followed soon by his devoted wife ten months later. His body of work was donated in the Whitney Museum of American Art, with some famous parts find permanent homes at the Museum of modern art in New York, The Des Moines Art Center and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Don't forget to raise your glass to today the birthday of Edward Hopper.
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