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Rating: 
Summary: What an experience
Review: 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.
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Summary: Perchance, to sip a coffee in an Edward Hopper bar
Review: Great artists are one thing, but books on great artists are something else. It is so rare that a writer, or critic, or historian or even art-devotee, can step away from their subject and relate work to a reader in a way that is evocative and objectionable. Here, Hobbs is able to do just that, giving us a great deal of information about the artist and his art without letting his own ego interfere. This is, first and foremost, a book about Hopper that uses the artist's work to paint a portrait of the man himself without digressing from the facts at hand or worse, falling into the trap of over mythologizing the artist beyond the achievements of his craft.
For me, Hopper is perhaps the greatest American painter... able to create a scene that is wholly believable and yet, has a hint of the fantastical about it. Though his work is celebrated for its depictions of bland, banal and even uneventful locations and characterisations, there is a fabrication and a distancing in the way in which he uses colour. The use of colour and to a greater extent light and composition is almost an abstraction of expressionistic proportions, seen, for example, in a painting like Rooms by the Sea, in which the room is transported geographically to give a feeling of emotional dislocation for those viewing it.
His best work, such as Gas - 1940, Drug Store, Hotel Room, The Automat, Pennsylvania Coal Town, Sun in an Empty Room, New York Movie & the iconic Nighthawks have a matter of fact reality about them whilst simultaneously dripping with an over-exaggerated sense of reflection and melancholy... making Hopper the perfect artist to experience whilst listening to the likes of Morrissey and Scott Walker. Hobbs' inclusion of the actual paintings, as well as early sketches and prints allows us to view the growth of Hopper's art in a kind of chronology, giving greater depth and perspective to the most astounding and emotionally captivating artist of the 20th century.
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Summary: Expression of American Monotonous Suburban Life
Review: 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.
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Summary: Comprehensive in scope, accurate in plates.
Review: Most comprehensive single volume regarding Hopper and his work, that I am aware of, and the reprints of the work are accurate and true to the originals. A significant book about a significant painter.
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Summary: Appealing format, great plates
Review: 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.
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