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Edward Hopper was a total hermit.
He was the type of kid that bullies made fun of in middle school. Social interaction wasn’t exactly his forte. He was a loner so the life of a reclusive artist was a perfect fit. Although Hopper is primarily known for his fine art oil paintings, he was a crafty fellow as well. Turns out he built his first sailboat at the age of 15! I guess you have more time on your hands when you don't have any friends.
While the life of a salty seadog was not for him, he was an avid traveler. In fact, his trips to Europe were some of the greatest influences on his work. Hopper was certainly the famous painter of American landscapes, but like any good male artist, he couldn’t help but depict the allure of the opposite sex as well. The allure and....power. Many of his early drawings depict women dominating men. I wonder how this translates into his love life? Kinky.
Well, he must have done okay on that front, 'cause he bagged himself quite a vixen of a wife. Jo, as he called her, was also an artist and she served as his muse, pushing him to expand his repertoire. She exclaimed once when describing her husband, "Sometimes talking to Eddie is just like dropping a stone in a well, except that it doesn't thump when it hits bottom." Doesn’t sound like too tantalizing a romance to me, but to each their own! Maybe she liked being the one in charge.
Jo certainly didn't marry for money because when they met, Ed wasn’t doing amazing as a professional artist. Hopper's career had a rocky start. It took quite a while for him to gain traction in the art world, but once he did he really made it big, even proving to be Great Depression-proof. While the average American was struggling to make ends meet, Hopper was bringing home the bacon. Museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art were paying thousands (which was a lot back then!) per work.
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Here is what Wikipedia says about Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. He is one of America's most renowned artists and known for his skill in capturing American life and landscapes through his art.
Born in Nyack, New York, to a middle-class family, Hopper's early exposure to art was nurtured by his parents. He studied at the New York School of Art under William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri, where he developed his signature style, characterized by its emphasis on solitude, light, and shadow.
Hopper's work, spanning oil paintings, watercolors, and etchings, predominantly explores themes of loneliness and isolation within American urban and rural settings. His most famous painting, "Nighthawks" (1942), epitomizes his interest in the quiet, introspective moments of everyday life. Despite a slow start, Hopper achieved significant recognition by the 1920s, with his work becoming a staple in major American museums. Hopper's technique, marked by a composition of form and use of light to evoke mood, has been influential in the art world and popular culture. His paintings, often set in the architectural landscapes of New York or the serene environments of New England, convey a sense of narrative depth and emotional resonance, making him a pivotal figure in American Realism. Hopper created subdued drama out of commonplace subjects layered with a poetic meaning, inviting narrative interpretations. He was praised for "complete verity" in the America he portrayed.
In 1924, Hopper married Josephine Nivison, also an artist, who played a crucial role in managing his career and served as the model for many of his figures. The couple lived a modest life in New York City, with summers spent in Cape Cod, which influenced much of Hopper's later work. Despite his success, Hopper remained a private and introspective individual, dedicated to exploring the subtleties of human experience and the American landscape. His depiction of the American scene, with its emphasis on isolation and contemplation, remains a defining aspect of his appeal and significance in the history of American art.
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