Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Presents Edward Hopper 1882 - 1967

1. Chatham Park • Art in the Class Room • Presents • Edward Hopper • 1882 - 1967 • One of the foremost realist painters of twentieth century America Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

2. Nighthawks, 1942 Oil on Canvas Nighthawks is perhaps the most famous paintings by Hopper. Today we are going to learn what makes this painting so appealing. We are going to learn about its composition. The use of color, light and shadow. Plus the intrigue of its mystery. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

3. Soir Bleu, 1914 Oil on Canvas Hopper was a realist painter who was also admired by abstract artists for his body of work and their composition, form and use of light. He was not a narrative painter but had been an illustrator. All of his watercolors were painted as direct pictorial records of what he saw. By the time he began to paint with oils he synthesized his observations and through his imagination, created much more then representations of reality. Who know what that means? This painting would later be dismissed by Hopper’s critics as only an Ambitious Fantasy. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

4. Soir Bleu, 1914 Oil on Canvas While the critics of the day were not impressed with Soir Bleu they were very much impressed with the painting New York Corner. Hopper captures a moment in time with the street scene, offering a sense of mystery and intrigue. One is left with the sense that something is happening or about to happen or perhaps has already occurred. What else is mysterious about this painting? Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper New York Corner, Corner Saloon, 1913 Oil on Canvas

5. Hopper’s compositions captured the alienation of twentieth century man.Hopper himself shied away from public attention and so his art would capture small groups or individuals. At times buildings were more important and served as metaphors.In this painting the mass of buildings is secondary to the sculptural quality of the roof line. The man in the foreground is almost lost in the composition but not to the artist. Le Pont Neuf or Ecluse De La Monnaie, 1909 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

6. Hopper was a shy and reserved person, who preferred to hide behind a controlled public image of an independent self made painter. The reality was he was schooled in illustration.Similar to NC Wyeth, Edward Hopper began his carrier illustrating for magazines and newspapers to earn enough money to live. And like Wyeth, Hopper’s true passion was painting, but was he good enough.Perhaps we’ll answer that question today. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper Self Potrait, 1903 Charcoal on paper

7. Edward Hopper was born on July 22, 1882 to Elizabeth and Garrett Hopper in the town of Nyack NY. A small Hudson River town. The Hoppers were a solid middle class family. The children attended the local private schools and attended a Baptist church founded by Edwards Great Grandfather. Elizabeth Hopper introduced young Edward to art and theatre at an early age.How many of you like the theatre and art. Have any of you seen a live play?At age 7 Hopper received a black board which became his first easel and soon he would learn to sign his name to his better drawings. House on a Hill or The Buggy, 1920 Etching, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

8. Hopper's relationship to his surroundings was visual rather than verbal. Throughout his life he avoided social interaction. He once described his father as an incipient intellectual who never quite made it.After high school Hopper would travel to New York City to study illustration at the Correspondence School of Illustration. His parents preferred that he study commercial illustration to help ensure a better financial future for the budding artist.Much of Hopper’s early work is considered dark and tonal perhaps from influences of his teacher Robert Henri. Although Hopper liked him as a teacher he wasn’t particularly fond of Henri as an artist. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper On the Quai, 1906 – 07 Conte, wash and touches of white

9. Hopper finished art school with awards and scholarships and an opportunity to teach. But it would take a long time for Hopper to attain a modest degree of success through his paintings.Early in his carrier Hopper worked out of doors, painting real images. While later in his carrier he would begin to compose oil paintings through a process of improvisation, often loosely based on memories, sketches or his imagination. This sketch to the right was reproduced for a magazine article about his school. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper Woman with Umbrella, 1904 Pencil on Paper

10. Hopper’s compositions would recall Henri’s advice, Low Art, is just telling how things are. As in - there is the night. High Art – gives the feeling of night. Our goal today is to develop a drawing or painting that provides a feeling. It could be a real feeling or an imaginary feeling. Of the illustrations to the right, Hopper develops a rich level of depth in the upper sketch more so then in the lower sketch. This is owed in part to his study of European artists and reaching beyond illustration to capture or convey a feeling not just convey an image. • . Illustration for Caroll D. Murphy, What Makes Men buy, The Magazine of Business, 22 Sept. 1912 That was the best piece of news I could Learn. Illustration for Tales of the Road, Asociated Sunday Magazine, 24 may 1914 Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

11. By 1906 Hopper would leave for one of several extended visits to Paris. There he would study Degas, Manet, Renoir, Rembrandt and Goya.Although Hopper reveled in the French influences he wanted to distance himself from modernism.The works he produced during this first trip to Paris provide a hint of structural solidity of his mature paintings, they demonstrate the development of light and shadow as dramatic vehicles plus Hopper’s awareness of the ability of light to convey a sense of immediacy and vitality. • . Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper The Bullfight c. 1917 Etching, second state

12. . In this painting Hopper is beginning to break away from the dark tonal techniques of his earlier work. Here you can appreciate how light and color and strong vertical elements are beginning to play important roles in the composition. New York Corner, Corner Saloon, 1913 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

13. House on the Hill, 1920, Etching, Moonlight Interior, 1921 – 23 Oil on Canvas The Moonlight Interior offers a glimpse of Hopper’s use of improvisational compositions in his paintings. The composition is a study of light entering the window contrasted with strong shadows. But the background is that of a previous house etched over a year earlier. Hopper is using past influences to enhance his current work, improvising the composition. Part of our drawing activity for today will be for you to improvise and add to the images depicted in the magazine pictures provided. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

14. Hopper’s command of the scene is evident in this sketch. Part of his technique is to use vertical elements that seem to extend beyond the page to help frame the image and create a balance to the composition. East Side Interior, 1922 Etching Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

15. Hopper’s etching began to focus on the American Vernacular architecture. Eventually these images would appear in his paintings. American Landscape, 1920 Etching Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

16. House by the Railroad, marks, what can be termed Hopper’s artistic Maturity. He has resolved issues from his important influences, such as Degas to create a personal Style. This house stands alone against the cutting edge of the railroad tracks. The tracks cut slightly inward to set up a diagonal to create a deeper space and a more powerful image. House by the Railroad, 1925 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

17. The image of a solitary house by train tracks in the etching American Landscape, when stripped of details of cows and trees, became the essence of the stark drama in the 1925 painting House by the Railroad. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

18. Haskell’s House, 1924 Watercolor Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

19. South Truro Church, 1930 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

20. As Hopper developed his mature style he relied on several compositional formats and similar composition material. Common to Hoppers paintings are scenes from or of, a woman in an interior by a window, city rooftops, urban street scenes, city parks, restaurants and movie theaters. Sunday, 1926 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

21. Early Sunday Morning, 1930 Oil on Canvas Street Scene Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

22. Urban street scene. French Six – Day Bicycle Rider, 1937 Oil on Canvas pg 68 Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

23. As Hopper developed his mature style, he relied on several compositional formats which he continued to use throughout his career. These include; Scene viewed at an angle from above A subject placed on an oblique diagonal axis cutting into the pictures depth. Frontal view, parallel with picture plane, Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

24. Hopper and his wife Josephine would spend many summers and falls on Cape Cod. Here he would capture some of the landscape images that you’ll see in the next frames. This little shack was his summer home for several years. Burly Cobb Hen Coop and Barn, 1930 Watercolor Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

25. Even though these are Landscape images the compositions incorporate the diagonal lines as well as strong vertical elements. Railroad Crossing, 1926 Watercolor Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

26. This landscape although a natural setting still follows Hopper’s tried and true compositional format. Can you find the diagonal orientation? Can you identify horizontal and vertical lines? Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper Rocks at the Fort, Gloucester, 1924 Watercolor

27. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper Gloucester Harbor, 1926 Watercolor

28. These next two paintings are considered some of the strongest Hopper paints. Notice the vibrant use of color. The use of horizontal lines of the wood work as well as the diagonal organization of the grapefruits to frame the picture. And then there is the intrigue. What is going to happen next? Tables for Ladies, 1930 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

29. One of Hoppers best paintings consists of a very simple series of subject matter. Strong verticals frame the two ladies in the foreground. The strength of the colors guide your eye to the center of the table. Hopper also had a sense of humor. Notice the “Chopped” Suey sign in the background. Chop Suey, 1929 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

30. Dawn in Pennsylvania, 1942 Oil on Canvas Notice the vertical lines, the use of light and shadow and the diagonal orientation of the tracks and the buildings in the distance all work to create rich composition. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

31. Shakespeare At Dusk, 1935 Oil on Canvas Can you identify the horizontal lines? What elements form the vertical lines? Is there a diagonal orientation to the image? Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

32. Study for NY Movie, 1939 Conte on paper New York Movie, 1939 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

33. Gas, 1940 Oil on Canvas Where is the mystery in this image? What elements are used to enhance the composition? Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

34. Cape Cod Evening, 1939 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper Can you identify the elements that for the diagonal lines. The vertical lines. Is there any mystery to this image.

35. Sketches for Cape Codd Evening Cape Codd Evening Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

36. This sketch is captured as if viewed from above. The shadows cast by an eerily lit street lamp also cast the shadow of the man and provides for a haunting image. This sketch leaves you wondering what is going on. It is as if the story is not complete and you have the opportunity to complete it yourself. So for home work… please develop a 2 page essay that explains what the man is about to do…… Night Shadows, 1921 Etching Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

37. Notice the use of vertical elements to frame the images. The use of diagonal format emphasized by the fence. Two Puritans, 1945 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

38. Nighthawks, 1942 Oil on Canvas The appeal of this image is what is happening, or happened or what is about to happen. Is the couple holding hands, did they just break up? Was a bank just robbed or about to be robbed or is this the meeting place? Where do the diagonal lines lead? The use of light pulls you dramatically to the center of the image. The shadows heighten the mystery. Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

39. “Just to paint a representation or design is not hard, but to express a thought in painting is. Thought is fluid, What you put on canvas is concrete, and it tends to direct the thought. The more you put on a canvas the more you lose control of the thought. I’ve never been able to paint what I set out to paint” Hopper Sun in an Empty Room, 1963 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

40. This painting is one of Hopper’s last efforts and is thought to be a metaphor for the last days of his life. Here he depicts his wife Josephine and himself as comedians about to take their last bow. Two comedian, 1965 Oil on Canvas Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

41. THE END Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper

42. Let’s draw ! Using charcoal or watercolors provided by The Chatham Park Art Room, Please draw one of the images from the magazine clippings handed out today. The clippings are intended to provide a theme for your drawing. You may add to the image by using your imagination or you may draw exactly what you see. Perhaps you like to dance, play baseball, softball, skateboard, BMX, play soccer, play an instrument or enjoy reading. Or you dream of driving a car, flying a plane, sailing a ship, etc. Use your imagination and add your own improvisation to the composition. Please be sure to capture light and shadow as key elements in your work. Is the composition a view from above, a parallel image to the page or a diagonal view cutting through the page? I want you to develop an emotion in your drawing or painting. It can be - happy, sad, tranquil or exciting . My goal is that your piece of art has feeling. Please be prepared to answer what the emotion or feeling is that is represented in your composition. Remember to put your name on your drawing(s). The Art in the Classroom drawings will be displayed during the spring Art Show. Which is next week! Chatham Park Art in the Class Room Hopper