Edward Hopper was probably the pre-eminent American realist painter in the years between the wars. Although he had made several trips to Paris, he spent nearly the whole of his career in Greenwich Village, New York. He claims to have been uninfluenced by his time in Europe and not to have heard of Pablo Picasso while he was there; to me this is very believable because there is little sign of influence of contemporary artistic movements.
Hopper's people, (if there are any), don't seem to interact with the viewer, each other or the world about them in general but I see beauty in these pictures.
He was interested in the isolation and loneliness of the people around him in the Big City. Indeed, his most famous, iconic work, Nighthawks, clearly depicts that sad situation. Almost paradoxically, his paintings show lonely people but remain attractive to look at. He was a consummate artist and his paintings seem to be full of a nostalgia for an earlier time. The rise of Abstract Expressionism completely cut him off from the artistic movement of the time. He was born in 1882 and died in 1967.
She is sitting alone and seems to be contemplating her situation. No one else is in the picture. Does she have any friends?
An empty painting. Or is it? There are no people in the early morning sunshine but there is a strong intriguing narrative. Are the shops open? Are they ever open?
Bright sunlight but still a single figure looking away from the viewer.
A later painting filled with gorgeous sunlight - but empty of people.
I'm listening to The Velvet Underground. I like this one: Who Loves the Sun? Listen here.
