Biography

An Artist is Born

Edward Hopper was born on the 22nd of July 1882 in Nyack, New York. He became artistic at age 5 and in his teens, he began to make drawings of cartoons as well as nature using pen/ink, charcoal, watercolor and oil. By age 13 he created his first signed painting and by age 17, after graduating high school, he decided to follow his career as an artist; his parents insisted that he study commercial art/illustration so that he could have a more reliable source of income.

Early Life

Hopper began going to school at the New York School of Illustrating in 1899, but then transferred to the New York Institute of Art and Design in 1900 where he met his most favored teacher and idol, Robert Henri. In 1905, Hopper got a part time job working for an advertising agency. After finishing school in 1906, Hopper made a trip to Paris France to escape illustration and in hopes of finding more influence in art but did not succeed. He was not as fascinated by the modern European art movement as he had hoped to be. Regardless of this, he made two more trips to Europe in 1909 and 1910.

Struggle

Hopper rented a studio when he got back from his trip in Europe and for a time, struggled tremendously to find his own style, in result, turned back to illustration. In hopes of trying to find a breakthrough to his depression, Hopper traveled to Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1912 and made his first outdoor painting and in 1913, he sold his first painting. Although he had relied on illustration in order to make a living for the early years of his life, he had grown to hate it while slowly shifting to fine arts.

Hopper turned to etching in 1915, producing about 70 pieces, but began receiving recognition for these works 5 years later. He was able to make 3 exhibitions; in 1917, he made an exhibition at the Society of Independent Artists, in 1920 he had a one-man exhibition at the Whitney Studio Club, and in 1922 again with the Whitney Studio Club, which later came to be known as the Whitney Museum of American Art. He also was able to get some recognition in 1918, receiving the U.S. Shipping and Board Prize for his war poster.

Breakthrough

Hopper had finally made a breakthrough in his career as an artist by 1923 when he was awarded 2 awards for his etchings, the Logan Medal of the Arts from the Chicago Society of Etchers, and the W.A. Bryan Prize. Apart from these awards He denied very many. In this same year while making a summer painting in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he met Josephine Nivison, also a former student of Robert Henri, (Hopper’s former teacher and Idol) and with her help,

Hopper was able to admit 6 watercolor paintings to the Brooklyn Museum, and then, in 1924 Hopper married Josephine. Being an artist herself, Josephine helped Hopper in so many ways as his wife by giving him advice, getting him to try new mediums of art, and managing his career, as well as modeling for all of his nudes, which was most of his work. Hopper was finally able to purchase a car after selling one of his pieces for $1,500, his personal record at the time.

Later Life & Death

Although the great depression existed around this time, Hopper was unaffected by it and was doing well financially. He sold 30 paintings including 13 watercolors in 1931 to famous museums such as the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and they bought his paintings for thousands of dollars. In 1932, Hopper participated in his first Whitney annual exhibition and from then on, he exhibited in every Whitney annual for the rest of his life. In 1933 Hopper was given his first large scale retrospective show at the Museum of Modern Art. In 1934, Hopper and his wife, Josephine, built their summerhouse in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where they were able to spend their summers there for the rest of their lives. During the 1950’s and 1960’s Hopper suffered many medical problems, as a result, he passed away in May 15, 1967 in his studio at age 85, in New York City.

Nighthawks

Nighthawks is by far Edward Hopper’s most famous paintings and one of America’s most recognizable paintings. It was sold to the Art Institute of Chicago for $3,000 and remains there to this day. Nighthawks captures a scene of a sharp angled restaurant at night with 4 subjects, a mysterious man in a dark suit and hat, a waiter in a white outfit, another man in a dark bluish suit, and a red haired woman with a red shirt. The name could possibly be in reference to the four restless people in a bar at what seemed to be late at night, considering the heavy illuminations coming from inside the restaurant, as well as no one else in sight, hence the name, “Nighthawks”.