HOPPER

Edward Hopper (1882-1967) is something of an American success story, if only his success had come swifter. At the age of 40, he was a failing artist who struggled to sell a single painting. As he approached 80, Time magazine featured him on its cover. Today, Hopper is considered a giant of modern expression, with an uncanny, unforgettable, and utterly distinct sense for mood and place. Much of Hopper's work excavates modern city experience. In canvas after canvas, he depicts diners, cafes, shopfronts, street lights, gas stations, rail stations, and hotel rooms. Compartment Car sees a lone woman reading, lonely guest houses and barns, House by the Railroad, a circus clown dining, and the famous Night Windows with a stooping semi naked women in the lit interior of a room begging the question of what she has been up to. Naked A Woman in the Sun smokes and stares out of a window and the famous Nighthawks is given a huge double colour page spread. The scenes are marked by vivid colour juxtapositions and stark, theatrical lighting, as well as by harshly contoured figures, who appear at once part of, and alien to, their surroundings. The ambiance throughout his repertoire is of an eerie disquiet, alienation, loneliness and psychological tension, although his rural or coastal scenes can offer a counterpoint of tranquillity or optimism. This book presents major works from Hopper's oeuvre to introduce a key player in American art history and the American psyche. 21 x 26cm, 96 pages new from Taschen.