The Complete Watercolors of Edward Hopper [Hardcover]

Whitney Museum of American Art (Editor), Gail Levin (Commentary)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393049957 | ISBN-13: 978-0393049954 | Publication Date: January 15, 2001 | Edition: Reprint

The complete watercolors of arguably America's best and probably America's most "American" artist.

This magnificent volume reproduces all of Hopper's 357 watercolor paintings . They were first published in the four-volume catalogue raisonné of the artist's works. Now they are offered at a price that will make them attractive to anyone seriously interested in art. Hopper was comfortable in both oil and watercolor, although his technique with each medium varied considerably. While oils were done in the studio, often from detailed sketches with notations on colors, the watercolors were painted on location and seem far more spontaneous. In the years since Hopper's death in 1967, many of his paintings have achieved iconographic status as statements about this country. His empty cityscapes and countrysides speak of our sense of loneliness and alienation, while his fascination with the light on Cape Cod and the buildings in Gloucester result in the evocation of feelings that can only be described as uniquely American. 357 color plates

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gail Levin is the author of numerous other books, including the classic Edward Hopper: The Art and the Artist (Norton) and Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 332 pages
• Publisher: Whitney Museum of American Art / W. W. Norton & Co.; Reprint edition (January 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393049957
• ISBN-13: 978-0393049954
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 10 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,553,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A feast for Hopper watercolor lovers!, February 6, 2001

By 

Laura (Parsippany, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Watercolors of Edward Hopper (Hardcover)

It is exactly what it claims: a"catalog" of all Hopper watercolors, with short notes about each work from the artists' notebook. I appreciate the compact, easy to handle size, and the clean design, yet wish for larger reproductions.(Which explains the 4-star rating.) I was delighted to see many watercolors for the first time. If you are disapointed by the lack of text, get Virginia Mecklenburgs' book on Hopper watercolors...it's as "easy" and wonderful to read as this book is to look at. I look forward to owning the companion, The Complete Paintings of Edward Hopper.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, July 25, 2005

By 

Atlantic (Boston) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Complete Watercolors of Edward Hopper (Hardcover)

Levin has split her Catalogue Raisonne of Hopper's work into two books with this one containing all the watercolors. I must disagree with other reviewers here regarding their complaints about the size of the images. In my opinion, it's unrealistic to make the images larger without changing the size/format of the book - which matches the companion of Hopper's oil paintings. Besides, this is a complete catalog of all his watercolors and I think it works very well. Don't assume that the images are "tiny"; they fit the pages and hence, I won't downgrade my assessment to match theirs.

Levin has done an outstanding job and I think all Hopper fans will appreciate this book. Highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There's nothing like seeing them all together, January 26, 2002

By 

John T. Preston (Fairfield, IA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Watercolors of Edward Hopper (Hardcover)

This would be a 5 star book if the reproductions were just a bit larger, but it's a small complaint. If you like Hopper you will enjoy discovering works you've never seen before. If you're a painter too, you'll like the format: 1 page of introductory text and nothing but reproductions after that! Lots of people are familiar with Hopper's quote "All I ever wanted to paint was sunlight on the side of a house." This is the book that makes you understand what he meant: his mostly on-sight watercolors have a sun drenched quality that his oils didn't catch as often, good as they are. Hard to imagine anyone being disappointed by this book.