Nighthawks

Sharing a well known painting by Edward Hopper.

Edward Hopper was an East Coast-based artist of the American regional tradition. He was born in 1882 and lived up to 1967. He was born into a well-off and strict Baptist family. You can feel conservativism in his work most of the time. He married a woman that he met in a New York art class named Joe. Joe ended up putting her painting career aside and managing Edward’s career completely. She was the female model in almost every painting that he made. What's great about Hopper is his geometry and the way he brings that through in architectural spaces. His paint paintings are quiet. They feature the figure most of the time, but the figure is placed in an architectural setting. It always feels like there's no conversation or has a quiet conversation. Hopper did receive a fine education. He was not wanting for material wealth. He was sent to Europe and he wasn't interested in what Picasso and Matisse were doing. He was more interested in what the realist and impressionist painters were or the work they had done, which he could see in Paris. He lived in Greenwich Village for a while and would spend the summers in upstate New York. Edward Hopper was great at creating a feeling derived from architecture and lighting. The idea of a poetic mood of isolation is something that people appreciate and Hopper's work to

The most famous painting that Edward Hopper did is Nighthawks. Edward Hopper painted Nighthawks in 1942, which is the date that the United States entered World War II. The isolated, quiet, and lonely diner conveys the feeling of isolation on the brink of the U.S. entry into World War II with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th. This painting shows the exact neighborhood that Edward Hopper lived in Greenwich Village. It’s specific but also generic that this diner would have been familiar to any American through the East Coast across the Midwest. It’s a strange building because it doesn't have an obvious entrance way. The building appeared several times in Hopper's work. The whole street looks lonely like it seems like it's a little too late to be out. It’s a medium-sized painting, being 30 inches by 57 inches. It was bought by the Chicago Art Institute. The painting has dramatic lighting. It's influenced by film noir movies and film noir detective literature. There is an indication that Edward Hopper was influenced by an Ernest Hemingway short story called Killers from the 1920s. There is a feeling of prohibition and organized crime that might give the characters reason to be out at night.

---

hope you really enjoyed this analysis!

-Monee’ B.

Yo! What’s Up… is supported by all of you readers so thank you so much for reading! Please like and share. And if you want to support my writing and research you can donate $5 through Venmo @monee-broadnax. Thank you for reading! Until next time!

---

Works Cited