Edward Hopper (1882–1967) was a American realism painter, mostly known for his still-life type paintings and illustrations of American culture. Realism is the attempt to portray subject matter with a photographic precision. Normally, there is nothing exotic or supernatural about realistic painters works. Only the daily mundane barrage of life is drawn and expressed. For the bulk of Hopper's works, the most evident feeling or emotion emanating from his paintings is the constant loneliness. The lone figure displaying no action but a moment that can be described as a deep sigh brought on from trying to outwit loneliness. One of his better known paintings, Automat (c. 1927), shows an alone woman dressed attractively as if she is waiting for someone or just having a cup of coffee alone. Some evidence of what the artist is trying to express can be noticed in the position of the opposite chair, that it is tucked in and not slanted out as if someone had been sitting there. Also, the reflection of the automat 's ceiling lights with the absence of anything else being viewed in the painting seems to imply a state of being alone and uneasiness. When compared with Van Gogh's style, there are no swirls of colors to convey emotion or to reveal an hidden meaning, its seems overly straightforward (illustrated) and realistic setting. Hopper's pattern of displaying common scenes with a singular person being alone seems to be a criticism of an inherent loneliness of everyday life.
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Automat c. 1927
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Hopper's preoccupation with loneliness is evident in Eleven AM c. 1926 and Gayle on the F Train c. 1971.
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| Eleven AM c.1926 |
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| Gayle on the F Train |
