Edward Hopper (Best of)
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
Edward Hopper (Best of) Details
About the Author Gerry Souter earned his degree at the Institute of Art in Chicago and then went on to do further studies in art at the University of Chicago. An artist himself, Souter has exhibited his paintings and photographs at the Institute of Art in Chicago, the Phoenix Art Museum, and a number of other galleries. A professional author, he has written more than twenty books since 1997, many of which have been extremely successful. His continuing studies in art history and architecture, the sharpness of his writing, and his visual experience, add a dynamic aspect to the study of the lives of artists and the description of their works, keeping the reader captivated, page after page. Read more
Reviews
The prolific author and expert on the life and times of Edward Hopper are well described in this book of Edward Hopper by Gerry Souter. Once again he goes into the depths and desires of a man who was seeking meaning in his works of art. In fact Hopper leads the life of a rather starving artist seeking the raison d’etre of being an artist of standing. Souter goes into depth as to how Hopper develops his oeuvre over a long struggle of being a student of Henri to being a commercial artist to put bread on the table. At the start being a student of Henri in the Ash Can School of Art, Hopper struggled in seeking a niche in the world of art. In fact Hopper traveled to France and in seeing his works one detected the works of an impressionist. Throughout the early 1900’s Hopper’s works vacillated between impressionism and realism. As the worm turns, Hopper became the essence of realism. Not the realism of photographic depiction but that of everyday scenes that use light and darkness and shadows to show simplistic scenes which are decluttered. Souter shows how Hopper struggled to get his work recognized by the art world. During this time he was prolific in his depictions of realism which was not immersed in detail. For example on many paintings one sees telephone poles but no presence of wires. His use of light and his observations of depicting scenes of looking from the outside to the inside take an artist impression which no other artist that I know of can convey. Hopper finally gains the recognition and fame he deserves by the 1930’s as he takes a wife in which Josephine and Edward would begin a stormy marriage in which Hopper conveys is 19th century attitudes in his dominance of Josephine. It was a well-kept secret that Hopper physically abused Josephine. Whatever the circumstances they never divorced and Jo kept a record in his journal of all the paintings and sales thereof. This book goes into great detail as to Hopper’s great works and what they stood for and how Hopper viewed them in his philosophy of what he considered to be his art. In fact as Souter points out, Hopper took great delight in having art critics analyzing his works as psychological ploys. Hopper was simplistic in his realism which contained minimalism along with the realization that a depiction of art is to be what the viewer realizes in his own mind. This is what Hopper brings as joy to us all. Art is in the eye of the beholder.