North American Art

Edward Hopper And The Scent Of Loneliness

Zuzanna Stańska 19 January 2017 min Read

I remember watching Edward Hopper’s piece for the first time. Of course it was his famous Nighthawks – you know this painting – it’s late night, people are sitting in a cheap restaurant, a couple is waiting for their order. If you’ve ever been a “nighthawk” yourself you know that feeling of fatigue, smell of cigarettes and digested alcohol. Tiredness and lost illusions.

Loneliness.

Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942, Art Institute of Chicago
Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942, Art Institute of Chicago

Hopper was a master of loneliness. Only he painted melancholy in such a way, that when you look at these people you can sense their secrets. Because sometimes your secrets are quite similar to theirs.

In Automat 1927, a woman sits alone drinking a cup of coffee. It is late and cold outside. The room seems large, brightly lit and empty. The woman looks self-conscious and slightly afraid, unused to being alone in a public place. Something appears to have gone wrong.

Edward Hopper, Automat, 1927, Des Moines Art Center
Edward Hopper, Automat, 1927, Des Moines Art Center

In A Woman in the Sun a woman is standing nakeda shaft of raking light from a nearby window with a cigarette.in her hand. She forgot to lit it. She seems to have forgotten herself. She even forget to lit a cigarette. Detached from the outside world she is waiting for the things to happen.

Edward Hopper, A Woman in the Sun, 1961, Whitney Museum of Art
Edward Hopper, A Woman in the Sun, 1961, Whitney Museum of Art

I can’t think of any other artist who was so perfect in catching loneliness, resignation and despair of modern people.

Find out more:

[easyazon_image align=”none” height=”160″ identifier=”1935202871″ locale=”US” src=”https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/51Jh1YwVWPL.SL160.jpg” tag=”dailyartdaily-20″ width=”139″]   [easyazon_image align=”none” height=”160″ identifier=”0764973460″ locale=”US” src=”https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/51rJazl7xgL.SL160.jpg” tag=”dailyartdaily-20″ width=”148″]   [easyazon_image align=”none” height=”160″ identifier=”1681772450″ locale=”US” src=”https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/51B4hACt8TL.SL160.jpg” tag=”dailyartdaily-20″ width=”106″]

 

Get your daily dose of art

Click and follow us on Google News to stay updated all the time

Recommended

William Merritt Chase, At the Seaside, ca. 1892, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY, USA. North American Art

5 American Impressionists You Need to Know

Impressionism is an art movement that originated in France in the 19th century. Artists associated with this movement are known for their dream-like...

Ruxi Rusu 16 September 2024

Karl Benjamin, Easter, 1957, private collection. North American Art

The Birth of Cool: Hard-Edge Paintings by Karl Benjamin

Could a painting style capture the aesthetic of an entire era? Could it give form to the bouncy, cool optimism of post-bebop jazz music? Karl...

Julia Bourbois 25 September 2023

Anonymous, Exvoto of the miracle done to Maria Gertrudis Castañeda, 1840, Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones, Mexico City, Mexico. North American Art

Ex-voto: The Mexican Art of Gratitude

When tragedy or misfortune happens, some people turn to a greater power. The possibility of divine intervention gives them hope. Usually, these...

Jimena Escoto 17 September 2024

Installation view of Just Above Midtown: Changing Spaces, on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York from October 9, 2022 – February 18, 2023. Photo: Emile Askey North American Art

A Return to Just Above Midtown Gallery at MoMA

This season’s crop of museum exhibitions around New York City includes the highly-anticipated retrospective of Linda Goode Bryant’s experimental...

Jennifer S. Musawwir 5 December 2022