Silent Theater: The Art of Edward Hopper

Silent Theater: The Art of Edward Hopper by Wells, Walter. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780714845418.

Silent Theater: The Art of Edward Hopper illuminates the life and work of one of Americas 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 artists vision. Hoppers 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 Hoppers work so universally compelling. The paintings embody a particularly American sensibility; Hoppers 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 Hoppers 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 artists own psychology and emotional states influenced his output.