Product Description
One of the most enduringly popular painters of the twentieth century, Edward Hopper produced many works now considered icons of Modern art. Canvases such as Drugstore, New York Movie, and the universally recognized (and often parodied) Nighthawks not only reshaped what painting looked like in America, but created a visual language for middle-class life and its discontents. This extensive new assessment of Hopper, which accompanies a major traveling exhibition, examines the dynamics of the artist's creative process and discusses his work within the cultural currents of his day--examining the influence not only of other painters, but also of such media as literature and film. And while most studies have tended to see Hopper as the great painter of alienation, this one takes a much broader, more nuanced, and ultimately more representative view.Spanning the entirety of Hopper's career, but with particular emphasis on his heyday in the 30s and 40s, Edward Hopper highlights the artist's greatest achievements while discussing such topics as his absorption of European influences, critical reactions to his work, the relation of Realism to Modernism, the artist's fascination with architecture, his depiction of women, and the struggle in his last years to produce original works. Illustrated with over 150 oils, watercolors and prints, and including essays by several noted scholars in the field and an extensive chronology and bibliography, this is the most comprehensive volume on Hopper produced in the last decade. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

The 'Mind your own business' attitude I love so much. A gorgeous book.
A pre-New Deal Republican, the quintaessential American painter, the painter of the Anglo-Saxon mood. I always liked Hopper's style without knowing why. After reading this book -and enjoying its beautifully binding quality, I like him even better.

His uncompromising confidence in his own art, his unbending individualism, his unashamed faith in the Anglo-Saxon quality of America, that which America-haters like to pinpoint most, all make him an icon of Americannes.

He was against the subsidizing trends the Federal Government took under Roosevelt, the Socialist take over of America under the harmless name of New Deal. While the world was doing propaganda (like celebrities do today), he stuck to his gut instinct, his uncompromising art. Should be a heroe of the people against big government today, a heroe who resisted the monopolizing tentacles of the Socialist New Deal. The Republican Party may have betrayed Conservatism, but Hopper sure didn't.

His "rejection of foreign influence and reengagement with American themes" set him aside (and I would say over) the rest of American painters of his time. And he was no flag waver either. He sold his soul to nobody. He was "successful enough in the 30's not to need the help of these federal programs". While writers like Dos Passos were depicting characters as pawns of business, he believed "in a social contract on individual liberties and property." His characters "like the artist himself ... are silent, absorbed in their own thoughts, lost in their own worlds." And that's exactly it: It's THEIR OWN worlds, not the worlds others would have them live in; it's like if you tried to peek into their lives and bumped into a sign that read: 'Don't trespass', or 'Mind your own business', or 'Don't mess with Texas', that I love America for so much.

Hopper's America is dead alright, since Roosevelt's New Deal came at full throttle. But it still glows in the hearts of individual men, and not necessarily they have to be Anglo-Saxon anymore. The world owes America at least that much.

Good Comprehensive look at a great artist
Wonderfully presented book of a great artist.Personal and career information is contained in a nice format.Art is described in the context of the time and the artist - his influences, the influences of the time.

A desirable publication
The book was published on the occasion of the exhibition: "Edward Hopper", organised by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; and the Art Institute of Chicago, 2007-2008. It comprises a series of nine essays by different writers, and concludes with Notes, a Chronology, a Checklist and Figure Illustrations and a Selected Bibliography.

This is a handsome volume large in size and almost square in format, illustrated throughout predominately in colour. The informative essays, each dealing with a specific period or genre, discuss the artist, his work and his methods, are illustrated throughout, with the relevant works appearing on or close to the page on which there are discussed. The illustrations are excellent, virtually full colour throughout, the black and white images being mainly drawings or period photographs. Many of the paintings are reproduced half or full page size, with a few full page bleed images of a detail from selected paintings. The quality of reproduction is excellent, often revealing the brush work and surface texture, and the colour rich and vibrant. In total there are 202 illustrations of which 180 are in full colour, they represent works in oils, watercolours and prints. A very desirable publication.

An Excellent Look at Hopper
One of the highlights of my summer was attending the Hopper exhibition at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, for which this volume (published by the MFA) was the companion text.At 288 pages, mostly filled with suberb reproductions of Hopper's paintings and sketches, this volume is comprehensive enough for even the most devoted Hopper fan.Perhaps only Gail Levin's "Catalogue Raisonne" offers a more comprehensive look at the artist.No matter how many art books you may own, clear a spot on your shelf or coffee table for this one.You will not be disappointed.

Edward Hopper
Edward HopperThis book is a great presentation of the outstanding Hopper exhibit at the MFA/Boston. Well worth seeing. ... Read more

Product Description
An extensive study on Hopper, which accompanies a major travelling exhibition and illuminates the life and work of one of America’s most celebrated artists.Illustrated with over 150 oils, watercolors, etchings and drawings with comments on their formal and technical characteristics, this exhibition’s catalog offers an updated critical interpretation of Edward Hopper’s work and an alternative view to the extensive literature that already exists on this artist.Among the artworks included are Cape Cod Sunset, Second Story Sunlight, and some interesting self-portraits from the Whitney Museum of American Art; the famous Morning Sun from the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, and a number of lesser-known watercolors and oils from Hopper’s journeys to Paris.Also included are essays by several noted scholars, and an extensive chronology and bibliography.Perfect for casual perusing or serious study, this lavish exploration of Edward Hopper’s work is certain to find a wide audience. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Happy Hopper
Delighted at the quality and speed of this transaction.
Apalled however at $A100 postage for a $US30 item.
Need option of low priority surface mail. Do they still have ships?
Hang the expense. It made a good gift.
Peter Geddes

What an experience
Edward Hopper is best known for his urban, moody paintings. He painted traditional rural landscapes, and seaside scenes along the New Englad coast, too. What he captured best, though, was urban life in the 1940s.

He seems to have caught it all, the bridges, trains, opera, and tenements, at every hour of day and night. And very often he captured someone, often a woman, in a moment of solitude. These scenes border on voyeurism, the unguarded moments when his subjects might be dressed, or partly, or not - with no one to dress for, it hardly matters. There is nothing erotic in these nudes and semi-nudes. In fact, I quite like the unposed, unpoised relaxation of the moment. Hopper is quite capable of showing a female figure as strong and desirable, as in "Office at Night" or "Summer Evening" I sympathize more with the figures who have no one to pose for; they seem more honest somehow.

People say that many of his paintings are about loneliness, and that may be true. I think more of them are about solitude, or separation, or the invisible walls that people erect to keep themselves sane in the urban crush. In "Two on the Aisle," as in so many paintings of two or more people, the two parties seem barely aware of each other. Even within the couple, they scarcely look at each other, as if long familiarity means there's nothing new to see.

Of 246 paintings reproduced here, only 88 are in color. They are well printed, and capture Hopper's generally subdued palette. They are just enough to make me greedy, though, and to wish I could see more in the colors that Hopper gave them. There's a lot of work here, including a number of etchings, from Hopper's earlier ouvre as well. I don't mean to neglect those works, but his 40s and 50s pieces have an incredible power over me.

The commentary occupies about half the book, and gives real insight into Hopper's life. I have to admit, I skimmed the words, only dipping into them occasionally. That just gives me more reason (as if I needed reason) to come back again. And again and again.

This book really is beautiful. If more of it were in color, it would have the highest praise I know how to give.

//wiredweird.

Appealing format, great plates
The long format of this book allows for good reproduction of many of Hopper's landscapes. I have several Hopper books, but this one is by far the most comprehensive and most beautifully printed. This is a wonderful gift for anyone who loves Hopper's work, or for your own art library.

Expression of American Monotonous Suburban Life
I came across Hopper's paintings, when I was doing reproductions of famous artists as my partial work in high school. They immediately caught my attention and excitement, as they had an odd quality, which no other painters had in their work. Vast spaces, empty streets, newly-woke-up ladies in old-fashion motel rooms, extreme light conditions that contradicted the monotonousness in some way... These are some of the major images one is apt to see in Hopper's works.

Hopper's paintings seem to depict the 20s-40s of America, in the context of local towns, cafes, old rooms, within the frame of realism. He's usually painted his figures in an alignment, that does not let us see their faces nor fronts. Instead, the sun has the right to see them, which casts bright light rays into dark rooms.

I think that Hopper seems to be content with the way of living in America, and how people of it carry on their lives. The paintings may indicate some not-so-happy situations, but they do not depict depression. Therefore, I think that Hopper is the best representative of American culture in the early twentieth century in that sense.

I haven't purchased the book yet; but had a chance to look at it in the school's library. The book contains many of his paintings, and Goodrich's comments show some level of apprehension and knowledge of Hopper's work. It is concise and comprehensive, and I recommend it to everybody. Hopper is certainly one of the most affective artists of the twentieth century and all times.

Comprehensive in scope, accurate in plates.
Most comprehensive single volume regarding Hopper and his work, that I amaware of, and the reprints of the work are accurate and true to theoriginals.A significant book about a significant painter. ... Read more

Product Description
"A definitive biography." Robert Hughes, Time"A nearly flawless account of a remarkable artist . . . a compelling and accessible narrative for anyone even remotely interested in modern American art." Michael Kammen, The New York Times Book Review This acclaimed biography of Edward Hopper is essential reading for anyone interested in the world-famous realist artist. This second, expanded edition doubles the number of illustrations, and includes a new section of paintings in color. A newly added section on Hopper's international influence on culture, especially on contemporary art, poetry, and cinema, makes this edition unique. The original biography (Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography, Knopf, 1995) has long been considered the seminal review of Edward Hopper's life and work. The biography's focus is the laconic, introverted painter's stormy forty-three-year marriage to outspoken and gregarious Josephine ("Jo") Nivison, herself an artist, and draws extensively on Jo Hopper's intimate diaries, which she kept from the early 1930s until shortly before her death in 1968 (just 10 months after her husband died). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

the amateur artist's point of view
I won't dwell on the psychology of Hopper's relation with Jo, although much can be gained from his cartoons of her and her cat.No, what is interesting to me is her accounts of Hopper's methods.Specifically his attempt (ultimately highly successful) to find his own style and the detours he took through printmaking and watercoulours to reach his mature style.Nevin notices that Jo preferred vertical format and Edward horizontal format.I wonder why?Also that she posed for him but he never did for her.Given their lack of money for a model this is a highly practical reason for her lack of commercial success - her inability to create an inhabited scene, a significant drawback for an artist.This book tells more useful information than most biographies about technique.It is also interesting for me to read about the intense inertia he had about painting - that he went for months on end without painting anything - a problem I have too. This is an engaging book on many levels - for artists as well as art lovers.

Much ado about nothing....
A very long book about a very uninteresting man that painted flat lifeless pictures, and who was a pig to his wife...save your money....take your wife to dinner with the money this book costs!

The book reads like a Hopper painting
Do not be intimidated by this book's length. I am not an art buff, but have become interested in Hopper and plan to attend the upcoming exhibition of his work at the National Gallery of Art in DC this Fall.
I approached this book with trepidation, but found myself drawn into it. I read it compulsively to the finish. There is tremendous detail presented in a simple austere style. It tries to make Hopper's life speak for itself. Thus, the book is a work of art about it's subject--a Hopper.
My only caveat is that you must also have a separate copy of Hopper's works (or at least many of them) to consult. Surprisingly and I think mistakenly, the book does not include copes of the many of the paintings.However, if you are familiar with his work, this is no impediment.

Two Comedians In Love - Edward and Josephine Hopper
Gail Levin's book -Edward Hopper:an Intimate Biography- is about the life of a famous artist, Edward Hopper, as well as that of an obscure artist, Josephine Hopper (the former Josephine Nivison).Mrs. Hopper's detailed diaries, kept up faithfully for decades, are a major source of information for Levin's book. Since this necessarily puts the perspective of the book heavily on Jo's side of the story, no one should consider this one-stop shopping for finding out what made Edward Hopper tick.The Hoppers were a two completely opposite personalities who both complemented and aggravated each other.What I most like about Levin's book is that probably no one else has ever been in Jo Hopper's corner before Levin.Jo usually comes off as the stereotypical shrewish wife who dominated her poor henpecked husband.What a different picture is presented in this book!Instead, their marriage was much more complex, and the love/hate dynamics never seem to have leveled off during the many years they were together.Their story defies my own stereotypcial notion that as people grow old, their emotions level off and they are like two old bookends.Not with these two!I also enjoyed finding out that Edward Hopper was a Bette Davis fan, that he liked Jo to wear her hair down, that Jo's idea of cooking was opening up cans, and that Hopper had to haul buckets of coal up from the basement to feed the coal stove that heated their studio/living quarters.Much of these intimate details are provided courtesy of Jo's diaries, which served as an outlet and a refuge from her stolid husband. Perhaps best of all is the theatricality and eroticism suggested by Jo's descriptions of how they worked together as she posed for many of his paintings.In one of Edward Hopper's last paintings, Two Comedians, he portrays two shy actors taking a little bow:a loving tribute to their long and histrionic collaboration together, in life and in art.

An interesting glimpse into the life of an American artist.
Gail Levin's biography is a thorough review of Edward Hopper's life and work, spanning his early childhood, his struggles as an artist paying the bills by illustrating for magazines, his success, and his consistently remarkable artistic output. The surprise for me came from the revelation that his wife Jo, usually a marginal and minor figure, was a remarkable woman and an artist herself. Although one is tempted to wonder how her career would have gone if she hadn't married Hopper, Levin avoids sensationalistic speculation and, aside from occasional comments, sticks strictly to the facts. ... Read more

Product Description
Edward Hopper resided in the Washington Square area of New York City from 1905 until his death in 1967, pursuing the visual essence of Gotham in various media and taking the measure of ordinary city dwellers. He embraced the architecture of the great city, revealing its solidity and bulk in "convincing three dimensional pictorial space." Today his most evocative canvases resonate with a contemporary power. Whether in oils and watercolors such as Automat, Nighthawks, or New York Pavements or in etchings like The El Station and Night Shadows, Hopper gave us stark yet intimate interpretation of urban existence that are touchstones of American art.

Avis Berman's essay explores how Hopper and his work illuminate each other by analyzing what his New York is--and is not. The artist preferred nondescript vernacular buildings, eschewing the new, the gigantic, the technologically exciting. He truly made emptiness full, silence articulate, plainness mysterious, and tawdriness noble. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

I love Edward Hopper
I'm not reviewing the content so am I reviewing the quality of the paper, the binding, the pictures. Nonsense even asking for a review.

A unique tour of the city itself
With an informed and informative text by New York resident, writer and art historian Avis Berman, Edward Hopper's New York showcases more than 50 color and b/w paintings, etchings and drawings focusing exclusively on famed artist's Edward Hopper's New York City inspired artwork. Many of the artworks have a paragraph of commentary exclusive to them, but the overall narrative tour continues from cover to cover. Realistic in its artistic style, with a slightly softer than life texture to the paintings that is just about the only thing that prevents one from mistaking them for photographs, Edward Hopper's New York is a unique tour of the city itself.
... Read more

Product Description
This sumptuous book presents the full range of Edward Hopper's work and offers greater access to Hopper, the man, than any other single volume.This book goes beyond the standard evaluations of the man and his work to reveal a complex man, introspective and intellectual yet romantic, and to illuminate the many levels of meaning in the paintings of his maturity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Collection of the Best Edward Hopper Paintings
Note: There are a couple Mormons who are angry over my negative reviews of books written in defense of the Book of Mormon, and they have been slamming my reviews.

Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks. PS: I'm not an art critic, but I know what I like. I think you'll enjoy the painting listed below.

I've looked through this book a hundred times (literally), and each time I find details in Hopper's paintings that add to my enjoyment. Some paintings that I love are the "Stairway" (mysterious), the "Two Puritans" (houses), "Gas" (very haunting), and "Solitude" (a lone house along a road).

Oh, and "Cape Cod Evening" (two people by the front door of a house while a collie looks at something). Very mysterious.

Highly recommended.

Wonderful,
Wonderful book, very well written, the plates are gorgeous, the organization isperfect.I feel lucky to have this book.
Highly recommend.

Realy good photos of E.H. work
I found this book to be useful as a art student ... Read more

Product Description
"Edward Hopper: Summer at the Seashore" takes readers on a fascinating trip to the New England coast. Children and adults alike will enjoy Hopper’s masterful paintings of sailboats, lighthouses, seascapes and white clapboard houses. ... Read more

Product Description
Silent Theater: The Art of Edward Hopper illuminates the life and work of one of America's most celebrated yet enigmatic artists.Through a close study of the themes, emotions, and imagery that preoccupied Hopper (1882-1967) throughout his life, Walter Wells presents many new insights, especially into the haunting silence and loneliness at the heart of the artist's vision.

Hopper's paintings are often described as belonging to a school of American realism, and were in part inspired by the works of European realists such as Gustave Courbet and Edouard Manet; however, the underlying themes of loneliness, melancholy, and silence that pervade his works also recall the surrealist, dreamlike images of Giorgio de Chirico.These elements of the dream world and the subconscious - psychological states that are intrinsic to all people, however little we understand them - may be what make Hopper's work so universally compelling.The paintings embody a particularly American sensibility; Hopper's evocative depictions of both urban and rural settings - including theatre interiors, railways, restaurants, gas stations, hotels, street scenes, and coastal landscapes - have become iconic images of early twentieth-century American culture.

Walter Wells' informative yet eminently readable monograph explores the many facets of Hopper's art, discussing from various perspectives his etchings, watercolors, and oil paintings, which represent a wide range of subjects.Particular attention is paid to the literary works from which Hopper took inspiration, as well as the ways in which the artist's own psychology and emotional states influenced his output. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Winner of the Prestigious Umhoefer Prize for 2009
On behalf of my editorial team, I would like publicly to thank the selection committee for awarding the 2009 Umhoefer Prize for Achievement in the Arts and Humanities to the author and editors of SILENT THEATER: THE ART OF EDWARD HOPPER, a volume that has aimed, from the outset, to offer the most definitive analyses yet available of this influential American artist and his work.---WW

drdickens
Professor Wells and I were colleagues in a university English Department. Over the years we've had spirited disagreements on many topics and reached sweet harmony on at least as many. When I saw his text in manuscript, I expressed some reservations about his reliance on Jungian ideas.
He brings to bear on his subject a superior intelligence and a lucid prose style that in itself adds aesthetic value to reprints of Hopper's work. In my judgment, clarity of thought and expression is the foundation of all good criticism. This book contains no jargon, pretension, or transgressive chic of the sort that has become commonplace in criticism of all the arts. The text invites the reader into a conversation with it and even provokes cavil, both also hallmarks of good criticism, since without them no serious intellectual work can take place. Its range extends beyond art as such, and offers sources from which additional information, always relevant, can be gleaned.
Like all good critics, Professor Wells transcends his own framework ( Jungian ) in his interpretation and judgment of Hopper's work. His commentary achieves cogency on its own merits and will affect how readers see what Hopper is dong and has achieved, even if readers do not see the work in exactly the same way. That accomplishment is the main business of serious criticism.
There are many reasons to buy this book. It's instructive, and the author is pleasant company. It will repay reading and rereading.

Great book by a grifted author.
Walter Wells has been a friend of mine for 45 years.His intellect and insight elevates his subject matter as well as his friendships.Anyone who buys and reads this book will both enjoy it and be enriched by it for years to come.AnnOrr

Solid work
I agree with all the positive comments by other reviewers. A solid, detailed and scholarly work that reproduces good prints of Hopper's art. It is well written and has some interesting readings of Hopper's paintings.

On a completely personal note: one thing which disappointed me slightly was Wells' tendency to read a lot of the paintings from a Freudian/Jungian angle. This is a tendency not only of Wells, but (it seems to me) a vast number of art critics.

Misinformation in this book
This book presents misinformation that will confuse anyone seriously interested in the subject. Much of what it offers is not new and has appeared elsewhere previously. The reproductions are the book's best feature. ... Read more

Product Description
The first significant American painter in 20th century art...

Edward Hopper (1882–1967) is considered the first significant American painter in 20th-century art. Living in a secluded country house with his wife, Josephine, he depicted the loneliness of big-city people in canvas after canvas. Probably the most famous of them, Nighthawks, done in1942, shows a couple seated quietly, as if turned inwards upon themselves, in the harsh artificial light of an all-night restaurant. Many of Hopper’s pictures represent views of streets and roads, rooftops, abandoned houses, depicted inbrilliant light that strangely belies the melancholy mood of the scenes. Hopper’s paintings are marked by striking juxta-positions of color, and by the clear contours with which the figures are demarcated from their surroundings. His extremely precise focus on the theme of modern men and women in the natural and man-made environment some-times lends his pictures a mood of eerie disquiet. In House by the Railroad, a harsh interplay of light and shadow makes the abandoned building seem veritably threatening. On the other hand, Hopper’s renderings of rocky landscapes in warm brown hues, or his depictions of the seacoast, exude an unusual tranquillity that reveals another, more optimisticside of his character. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Beautiful book!
Loved this book. Great reproductions and just enough writing about the pictures and about Hopper. I saw the Hopper exhibition last year at the National Gallery and it was wonderful. His art is just breathtaking and I enjoyed revisiting it in this book.

Good introduction to Hopper's life and work
Hopper made my favorite painting, "Nighthawks", arguably the most imitated and parodied painting of the past 50 years. Kranzfelder's biography is fairly superficial, concentrating on dates and major events in Hopper's life, rarely attempting to dig deeper into the subject. But that's OK; I wasn't looking for a full-scale appraisal. The reproductions are excellent and in general this is a good introduction to Hopper's life and work.

Must Read Introduction to Edward Hopper!
While I was superficially attracted to this book because of its stunning reproductions and affordable price, Kranzfelder deserves much more credit.This book is wonderful for amateur Hopper enthusiasts and presents in-depth analysis balanced with connections to contemporary painters and changes in society.Mostly chronological, this book is divided into the various themes such as voyeurism, windows, sexuality, and urban isolation.Another excellent addition to any personal library from Taschen, the best art resource publisher.

IT'S A HOPPER!
I have read the FRENCH translation of this book,and i enjoyed it,even if the approach often is on the intellectual side.No AMERICAN art in the first half of the previous century gets near that man, who visualized his country with a personnal perception.The paintings of HOPPER often gets to you in their quest of lonelyness.PEOPLE IN THE SUN for instance is fascinating.The most interesting aspectabout HOPPER,is that his paintings are about the persistance of vision;the way one can try to read his mind.

If you are interested in Hopper, DO NOT miss this book!
This is one of the most intelligent and interesting books on Hopper I've read. And I have a good-sized collection of books on this American artist because he's my favorite.

Not only are there rarer paintings and etchings in here not often included in coffee table books on Hopper, but author Kranzfelder shows his influence on photography, and shows the influence of other artists (notably Degas) on Hopper. Kranzfelder puts paintings and photos on one page, and the particular example of Hopper's work on the other so you can see the comparison side by side.

The text is also interesting and full of rare facts and a good analysis as well. If you want a great book about Hopper's work, this is one of the best I have seen. HIGHLY recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
More than any other artist, Edward Hopper (1882-1967) made the unique visual landscape of the American city his own. In his works, all-night diners, motel rooms, and deserted, after-hours offices are sparsely populated with isolated, brooding figures. While never directly narrative, his restrained and carefully handled oils and watercolors have a timeless, universal quality that has long struck a chord with a huge international audience.

From paintings made in Paris in the early 1900s to iconic views of Manhattan created more than 60 years later, this book examines Hopper's work in the context of both American and European painting from the turn of the 20th century to the 1960s. The influence that film and other forms of popular culture had on Hopper is explored here for the first time. Published to accompany a major retrospective exhibition at Tate Modern in London, this stunning book is the definitive work on this quintessentially American artist.AUTHOR BIO: Sheena Wagstaff is director of exhibitions at Tate Modern, London. Peter Wollen is professor of film, television, and digital media at UCLA and a filmmaker, critic, and scholar. David Anfam has published widely on American art. Brian O'Doherty is an artist and critic and the author of American Masters: The Voice and the Myth in Modern Art. Margaret Iverson is professor in the department of art history and theory at the University of Essex, England. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Beautiful book
This book is superb, both the beautiful reproductions of the paintings, and the written information and commentary. There are also excellent black and white photographs taken in and around Hopper's studio, some of which include the artist. ... Read more

Product Description
The loneliness of big city life was Edward Hopper's subject. His works have come to symbolize the melancholy of modern life. The catalogue shows six of Edward Hopper's major works together with around 65 other masterpieces from the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Works by such artists as Man Ray, Lyonel Feininger, Charles Sheeler and Georgia O'Keeffe will impressively illustrate the rapid development of cities, a central theme in American art prior to the Second World War. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Great Catalogue of the Whitney Museum
This beautifully illustrated and informative book is a catalogue of a travelling Whitney Museum exhibition in Germany and the Netherlands. I purchased the book when I visited the Whitney Museum. The book has 100 reproductions of the Whitney's most well known works dated from 1900 to 1950. The purpose of the exhibit and book is to show some of Hopper's paintingsas well as by many other artists who influenced his work. The book begins with a series of essays that focus on Hopper's philosophy as an artist and on all the major American art movements of the first half of the 20th century from the ashcan school to precisionism. There is also an essay about the history of the museum.
The second half of the book deals with the reproductions. The works are divided into seven sections which the first five deals with painting and sculpture. The paintings and sculptures are arranged by art movement and each come with commentary.The first section shows ashcan school works by John Sloan and Robert Henri, who was Hopper's teacher. The second section shows abstract paintings andworks influenced by European art movements. Included in this section are a Futuristic painting by Joseph Stella, a Cubist painting by Max Weber, and three works by Georgia O'Keefe. The third section shows Hopper's works such as "Seven A.M.", and "New York Interior." The fourth section focuses on regionalism and painting during the Depression with works by Thomas Hart Benton and Ben Shahn. The last painting section shows precisionist works by Charles Sheeler and others. The sixth section of the book deals with drawings, prints and watercolors. In this section, you'll see works by Charles Burchfield and John Marin who are known for watercolor painting. The last section deals with the importance of photography in twentieth century art with works by Alfred Steiglitz and Edward Steichen. In the end of thebook there are short biographies of all the featured artists. As a lover of art, I learned about new artists that I never heard of until I glanced through the book. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in modern American art or for someone who has visited the museum and wants a reminder of its masterpieces. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

LARGE Hopper prints
The reason to buy this large (approx 10x14) book is for the LARGE Hopper prints.Not every one is quite this size, but enough are to make picking up a used copy worthwhile.It's a pretty nice selection, and I'm glad to have it even though I have other good Hopper books. ... Read more

Product Description
After visiting Charleston, Paris, Mexico, and Paris, Gail Levin pairs her own photographs of the sites with the paintings of Edward Hopper. "A beautiful, intriguing portfolio".--"Booklist". 93 illustrations, 90 in color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

HOPPER-HOPPING WITH GAIL LEVIN
There's a TWILIGHT ZONE episode titled, 'A KIND OF STOPWATCH' which starred Richard Erdman & was first broadcast in October of 1963.The story is about a man who is able to freeze time by suspending the progress of the second hand on an enchanted stopwatch.He instantaneously stops time in order to rob a bank and accidentally breaks the stopwatch in the process, leaving him stranded alone forever in a timeless, lifeless world.I saw the episode as a child and it immediately captivated me, and something about that imagery has haunted me ever since.EDWARD HOPPER is my favorite artist and there'sa "timeless isolationism" - a Twilight Zoneish quality - to his oeuvre that I really resonate to.(Don't worry!I don't intend to psychoanalyze myself here.Although my parents DID disenroll me from kindergarten when, because of my withdrawn nature, my teacher described me as "antisocial."They employed the obvious solution to that malady, right?)

HOPPER's works convey this intense internal aloneness by merely hinting at details in big spaces, depicting daytime shadows sparsely and yet placing almost everything in a serene (often golden) glow.His pictures rarely illustrate the sharp, mind-numbing dead of Winter or the harsh and draining dog days of Summer.Regardless of the time of year in which he worked, in Hopper's world it is perpetually Autumn.Dreamy.Quiet.Lonely. Sad.But how he captured that mood cannot be fully fathomed through mere observable techniques.It was Mr. Melancholy's inner vision that was his real "style", and this comes across so brilliantly in GAIL LEVIN's wonder-filled book, 'HOPPER'S PLACES.'

Having served as curator of the Hopper Collection at the Whitney Museum, and having written & compiled 'EDWARD HOPPER: AN INTIMATE BIOGRAPHY' and 'A CATALOGUE RAISONNE' (as well as many other Hopper-related titles), Gail Levin is probably the foremost expert on the man and his work, and eminently qualified to be our tour guide as we go Hopper-hopping through 3 countries in search of his subjects.Levin's photographs duplicating the sights & angles that Hopper put on canvas really highlight the unique "eye" for scenes that, via his singular process of artistic alchemy, the painter was able to transform into the HOPPER ZONE.

HOPPER'S PLACES records many of my favorites : EAST WIND OVER WEEHAWKEN (1934); SHAKESPEARE AT DUSK ('35); APPROACHING A CITY ('46); LIGHTHOUSE HILL ('27); ADAM'S HOUSE ('28); and the utterly fascinating, ROOMS FOR TOURISTS ('45).I can see how this bed & breakfast place depicted at night might elicit diametrically different responses from a variety of observers : "I ain't going in there; that's where Norman Bates lives!" or "God dwells there and He invites me to leave the darkness and come into the Light."

Unfortunately, because Levin was unable to provide comparative photos for them, a few really choice Hoppers were excluded from this book.Notably, DRUG STORE (1927); EARLY SUNDAY MORNING ('30); SEVEN A.M. ('48); and Edward Hopper's ubiquitous masterpiece, NIGHTHAWKS (1942).Incidentally, this shopping mall poster gallery & post card favorite was the inspiration for the title of the TOM WAITS "live" studio album, 'NIGHTHAWKS AT THE DINER', which in turn was the inspiration for one of Amazon's best customer reviews - Kippy Lanker's April 6, 2002 review called, 'IN THE OLDEST BAR IN NEVADA...'

Once upon a time, I had entertained the idea of a career in art (another fatality on my Boulevard Of Broken Dreams), but in discovering the work of Edward Hopper, I realized that my pictures had already been put on canvas, and better than I could have hoped to paint them.HOPPER'S PLACES is a "must own" book for any fan of the man's work, or for anyone who simply wants to SEE the definition of "art."

"MAMAS DON'T LET YOUR BABIES GROW UP TO BE COWBOYS,"Waylon & Willie sang in 1978, "BECAUSE THEY'LL NEVER STAY HOME AND THEY'RE ALWAYS ALONE, EVEN WITH SOMEONE THEY LOVE."But then of course, if your babies should happen to display an aptitude with pen & brush, you just might want to ship 'em off to art school.

Wonderful achievement, valuable tool for painters!
I loved this book! If the most important trait to have as an artist is to "see" like an artist, then this gives you insight into what one of America's greatest saw.

Anybody who has picked up my copy of the book has been fascinated, even if they aren't painters themselves. The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5, was the analysis of some of Hopper's subjects. It seemed, after reading what the author wrote about the paintings, that she spent too much time in academia and not enough time painting. She attributes more complex motives to some of Hopper's compositions than he intended, I think. For instance, I suspect that the only reason he painted the dead tree in front of Libby House was that he found it artistically interesting. I don't think he was trying to show "past decay" against the present, but who knows?

In the end, I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves Hopper or the realist style.

Wonderful
If you are a fan of Hopper's art, and/or if you like to paint yourself, you will love this book.Hopper's ability to take the ordinary and turn it into an exceptional painting is amazing, and this book shows you exactly (well, almost) what he saw when he painted his scenes.Gail Levin went through a lot of hard work to track down these places, and seeing them side by side with Hopper's paintings makes it well worth her effort. It's my favorite art book, turned to time and time again. ... Read more

Product Description
British author Geoff Dyer once surmised that Edward Hopper "could claim to be the most influential American photographer of the twentieth century- even though he didn't take any photographs." What we see in Hopper's paintings when we look at them through the lens of photography, and how, in turn, the language of photography was influenced by Hopper's work, are the twin subjects of Edward Hopper & Company. Thoughtfully curated and edited by the respected San Francisco gallerist Jeffrey Fraenkel, seven paintings and three drawings by Hopper are here thematically interlaced with carefully selected photographs by eight of the masters of twentieth-century photography: Robert Adams, Diane Arbus, Harry Callahan, William Eggleston, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander and Stephen Shore. As Fraenkel writes in his introduction,"More than almost any American artist, Hopper has had a pervasive impact on the way we see the world-so pervasive as to be almost invisible. The photographs that follow are potent evidence of his legacy, each a revelation of how one mediummight point to unimagined new possibilities for another." In his intimate essay for this volume, photographer Robert Adams identifies the singularity of Hopper's influence when he writes that it was Hopper who enabled his artistic realization "One did not need to be ashamed of having a heart." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Connections
Too often photographers and photography viewers forget the links between photography and the other arts.Keeping these links in mind might lead to better vision and better understanding and appreciation of images.

"Edward Hopper & Company" is just the book to make and reinforce those links.Originally prepared as a catalogue of a show at the Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, the book consists of several paintings and drawings by Edward Hopper, a giant of twentieth century representational painting, and a collection of photographs by Robert Adams, Diane Arbus, Harry Callahan, William Eggleston, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander and Stephen Shore, all giants in the pantheon of photography.The book shows the connections between Hopper's form and content and that of the photographers.

The written commentary in the book is negligible and that is appropriate, because the pictures in the book speak so clearly that further explanation would be redundant.Consider the first picture in the book, which depicts a store window in Duluth.Unless one knew every picture in Hopper's oeuvre and none of the work of Stephen Shore, one would be sure this was a Hopper painting, until one looked at the small label describing the photograph.This similarity to Hopper's work in both form and content is obvious in every image in the book.

There is certainly food for thought here.Did the photographers see Hopper's work and try to copy it?Or was there something in the air that simultaneously developed the same vision in the painter and the photographers, like the similar work on evolution by Matthew, Wallace and Darwin.

Although one can discuss the similarity of subject matter, I would propose that the photographers were as concerned with the palpability of light as Hopper, to a greater or lesser degree.(Interestingly, and probably apocryphally, when Hopper was asked how he had developed his use of light he answered "I just paint what I see."How wonderful to be able to see that way!).

What other opportunities are there for photographiles to learn from other artists?Almost immediately I think of Gericault's use of color and handling of skies but the list of artists keeps growing as quickly as my mind can work.And what of the possibilities of learning from the non-visual arts.What does Mahler have to teach us about repetition and counterpoint?Aside from the wonderful images in this book, it should stir us to develop our artistic sensibilities from all the arts.

As to the book itself, the paintings and photographs are well reproduced, and would be a pleasure to view, even without the theme.Each image appears alone on the right side of the spread with a small caption on the left so that there are no distractions from the viewed image.

Altogether, this is a remarkable book for those interested in the arts, photographic or otherwise.






... Read more

Product Description
Edward Hopper (American, 1882-1967) studied under Robert Henri, an advocate of the Ashcan School of gritty realism, at the New York School of Art. Travel in Europe left Hopper little impressed by contemporary art movements there, other than Impressionism, whose use of outdoor light he admired. 'I like long shadows and early and late sunlight,' Hopper once said. 'I am very much interested in ... trying to paint sunlight without eliminating the form under it, if I can.' This calendar's twelve images offer an outstanding cross-section of Hopper s brilliant six-decade career.

Published with the Whitney Museum of American Art. Size: 12 x 13 in.; opens to 12 x 26 in. Printed on FSC certified paper with soy-based ink. ... Read more

Product Description
Edward Hopper (1882-1967) is considered the first significant American painter in 20th-century art. After decades of patient work, Hopper enjoyed a success and popularity that since the 1950s has continually grown. In canvas after canvas he painted the loneliness of big-city people. Many of Hopper's pictures represent views of streets and roads, rooftops, and abandoned houses, depicted in a brilliant light that strangely belies the melancholy mood of the scenes. Hopper's paintings are marked by striking juxtapositions of colour, and by the clear contours with which the figures are demarcated from their surroundings. His extremely precise focus on the theme of modern men and women in the natural and man-made environment sometimes lends his pictures a mood of eerie disquiet. On the other hand, Hopper's renderings of rocky landscapes in warm brown hues, or his depictions of the seacoast, exude an unusual tranquillity that reveals another, more optimistic side of his character. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A fine summation of an American icon.
While Edward Hopper was an American scene painter, and his work very much a product of it's time, there is something about his choice of subjects, coupled with his very particular point of view, that transcends much of the realism that predated the advent of Abstract Expressionism.Hopper explored the singular melancholy of the American psyche unlike any other painter of his day (or before, or since.) This superb book, one of Taschen's Basic Art series, sums up Hopper's achievement with a concise overview of his work. The text is a first-rate biography and critique rolled into one.The reproductions of the work are clear and beautifully reproduced.If you would like one volume on the work of Hopper this one can't be beat, especially for the very modest price.

If it's all you can find
This work is of medium value.The collection of reproductions is good, both in terms of the amount of them, as well as their quality.Certainly it's nothing overly-impressive, but it is a fine collection.

The problem lies more in the commentary.Renner spends a great deal of time on "re-codings" in Hooper's work, leading to many...interesting conclusions.As one reads along, one gets the impression that Hooper himself didn't have a great deal to say (espeically compared to artists, like Dali, who can't shut up), so Renner instead fills the space with what lamentably passes for art criticism these days (mostly of the postmodern and psychologizing variety).I wasn't terribly impressed.

Everything considered, you would be better served by another Hooper book from Taschen, this one written by Ivo Kranzfelder.Kranzfelder takes much greater care to deal with the little amount Hopper said, and (while the current style does occur to an extent) the commentary tends to be much more lucid as regards Hopper's works.Additionally, that volume has a much larger and better variety of Hopper's works than Renner's.

That being said, if one cannot get a hold on Kranzfelder's book, or does not want to spend the extra money for it, Renner's work is acceptable.The commentary isn't swell, but it is still passable. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (8)

The Underside of America
Reading this Book made me feel like I too was Staying Up Much Too Late.Using the iconic Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, Theisesn roams into the dark parts of our conscience that typically surface during late night conversations.Having visited a retrospect of Hopper's work, I was stunned by the darkness of his vision - stunned and attracted by it.Nighthawks is emblematic of this darkness, as are masterpieces like Automat and Office at Night.Theisen ties the symbolism with Hopper's work to the darkness of the American soul in the twentieth century.His analysis is spot on and very applicable to Hopper's work.The writing is accessible and flows smoothly.If you are interested in the darker part of the American conscience, this book is a good place to live for a while.

Interesting Meditation on Hopper
At first glance, I expected this to be a heavy duty history of Hopper's painting, with copious documentation, contemporary views of the work, and lots of secondary source citations--something like reading a published dissertation. I was pleasantly surprised to find Theisen's book is not an ordinary work of scholarship. It's not so much academic art criticism as it is a comment on American culture and mores. Theisen uses Hopper's seminal work, "Nighthawks," as a jump-off point to discuss film noir, Pulp Fiction, Andy Warhol, pornography and Puritanism, the Beats, Russ Meyer, the Great Gatsby--you name it. At times, it feels overstuffed, and it contains unnecessary editorializing (about the Iraq War, for example) and some sloppy mistakes (as one amazon reviewer has noted, Theisen wrongly says Gatsby kills himself at the end of Fitzgerald's novel). But overall it is an imaginative and engrossing work that will inform those who don't know much about Hopper the man and who always found him an understudied artist. Theisen's book could have a place on a cultural studies or U.S. history shelf, and it would make interesting reading for a freshman American history survey class. An unusual, though very readable thought piece.

Great theory
The book was great in theory but some of the connections and referances were a little week. I recommend it because it was thought provoking and intelligent.

mistakes hurt credibility
There are two mistakes apparent on first glance at a clever little book--the female character in Pulp Fiction is "Honey Bunny" not "Honeybunch" and Gatsby does not commit suicide in The Great Gatsby.The first mistake is a minor pop culture snag and the second is a serious error in American literature.Gatsby is murdered by George Wilson, whose wife Myrtle was having an affair with Daisy Buchannan's husband, Tom.Wilson kills himself after he shoots Gatsby who he mistakenly believes ran down his wife.

Whatever happened to editors and fact checkers?

The premise of the book is interesting and entertaining, but these errors are distracting.

Dissecting NIGHTHAWKS: A Treatise on Urban Alienation
Edward Hopper's paintings, well known to almost everyone in this country, are unique in that they convey a sense of loneliness, yearning, suggestions of dark thoughts, pessimism, and hopelessness - not exactly the moods one would want to examine on a daily basis, but certainly painterly images that cause us to pause when we encounter them in museums and collections.

Gordon Theisen is a fine writer and in this book STAYING UP MUCH TOO LATE: EDWARD HOPPOER'S 'NIGHTHAWKS' AND THE DARK SIDE OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHE he manages to successfully use the famous night diner painting of the artist to address the current mental state of affairs seeping into our consciousness.He wisely covers every aspect of the artist's life and work, giving us the necessary details of his life and his idiomatic stance in American art, spreads those ideas into his output thus assuring us that the one painting of the title is not an isolated image, and then begins to apply his ideas to our cultural status - at times not comfortable, but always creatively informative.

If Thiesen strays a bit too far from his title subject, drawing on his own interpretation of concepts he perceives as more than just legitimate diversions, then he can be forgiven by the reader who want more from an author than a term paper presentation.Thiesen indulges in reminiscing about our cultural icons such as diners, cigarettes, coffee, plastic, jazz, war, sex, film noir, and personality disintegration in a time of easy drugs AKA medications.Perhaps these are topics many would not elect to explore, but then they are bookmarks to the greater understanding of where our current culture stands.

If indeed our artists are our shamans then Hopper as Thiesen presents him is a prophet of sorts.Not that the book is depressing as the Nighthawks painting: Thiesen has the good will to engage us in the positive aspects of all of the negatives listed above.There is humor here, but it is humor with an edge.This book, along with other contemporary 'paintings as examples of current thought' books by such authors as Biel and van Hensbergen in their evaluations of Grant Woods' American Gothic and Picasso's Guernica, once again proves that art gives us more than visual delight: art gives us valuable food for thought...and change.Grady Harp, November 06 ... Read more

Product Description
A penetrating exploration of the American realist painter, who was able to capture the many moods of the nation he called home.

Edward Hopper’s talent for depicting multiple aspects of the post-war experience is the focus of this flexi-cover edition of Edward Hopper: Portraits of America. From his images of deserted small towns and solitary figures in empty offices to his cheerfully tranquil New England landscapes, Hopper’s most famous compositions are presented as products of a life spent observing human nature. Hopper’s images evoke an enigmatic uncertainty, which speaks to the heart of the American experience. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Splendid!
Wow this book is great! The insight is wonderful and the images look awesome! Great buy for any Hopper fan!

An easy start to appreciate Hopper's work.
This book is quite easy to read while sometimes it's not easy to enjoy the pleasure of an art work. Edward Hopper, an icon of the realistic painter of the U.S.. Solitude, isolation and alienation are common emergence in manyHopper's work. It's like reading a novel of metaphor leaving"readers" a huge space to imagine the context of the painting.The book provides a lot of clues for us to step into the "Literaturalworld" of Hopper. ... Read more