We have another Art Anniversary this week, with the birthday of legendary US artist Edward Hopper. He was born on 22nd July 1882, 15 miles from Manhattan & had a tendency to grumpiness.
Like so many artists of any discipline, he believed that,
"So much of every art is an expression of the subconscious that it seems to me most of all the important qualities are put there unconsciously & little of importance by the conscious intellect."
His influence – partly for the interpretations of his images - is huge & contributes to the broader world of popular culture as well as the art world. Perhaps the most well-known of these is “House by the Railroad,” which is said to have inspired Hitchcock’s Bates Motel. As soon as you see it, you wouldn’t be surprised.
Although many of Hopper’s works are afforded an easy but wide-ranging variety of narratives by the presence of isolated or taciturn-looking figures (the women usually modelled by his wife), I find his less famous & unpeopled paintings are equally interesting. There’s an evocative richness to them that is engaging & if you’ve ever seen a film in your life, they take on intriguing narratives of their own.
Absence in art says as much as presence.
House by the Railroad, 1925
Lighthouse At Two Lights, 1929
Haskell’s House, 1924
Early Sunday Morning, 1930
Manhattan Bridge Loop, 1928
Stairway at 48 rue de Lille, Paris, 1906
Sun in an Empty Room, 1963
Happy Birthday, Mr Hopper!
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