James Baquet

    Many have seen the slightly sinister painting “Nighthawks,” by American artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967). In an era when photography was appropriating “realism,” and the impressionists were reacting against it, Hopper stands out as a painter who could create realist images that were nevertheless imbued with the strong emotional impact of impressionism.

    Average in many ways — born into a comfortable family, educated in the usual way — he early showed artistic talent, painting among other subjects the boats in the harbor of his yacht-building hometown in upstate New York. He would return to nautical subjects throughout his career.

    His life philosophy was taken from that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, based in strong individualism but with a puckish sense of humor. Though he was passionate about becoming an artist, his parents insisted he prepare for a career as a commercial illustrator, a prospect he loathed.

    One of his art teachers, Robert Henri, urged his students to “make a stir in the world,” and said, “It isn’t the subject that counts but what you feel about it.” He also told his students to “paint pictures of what interests you in life.”

    While these carefree ideas would influence the mature Hopper, as a young man he was forced to take work as an illustrator. This drudgery was punctuated by three trips to Paris, where he seems to have been affected more by the “Old Masters” than by the moderns. (He said later that he “didn’t remember having heard of Picasso at all,” but was extremely impressed by the work of Rembrandt.)

    Not until his marriage — past age 40 — did his painting career take off, as a result of promotion by his wife, Jo. She (along with Hopper) was also the model for his most famous work, “Nighthawks.”

    Most people in viewing this image of a sparsely populated diner late at night feel the loneliness that permeates the setting. Hopper, however, wished to emphasize the predatory nature of denizens of the night — hence the title.

    The image now hangs at the Art Institute of Chicago, and has been widely emulated — and parodied — in films, television, and other works of art.

    Vocabulary

    Which word above means:

    1. excitement, commotion

    2. borrowing, stealing

    3. ominous, threatening evil

    4. preying on others

    5. one who lives or goes someplace

    6. possibility; 7. related to ships and sailors

    8. thinly, barely

    9. hated

    10. interrupted

    11. invested, filled