Edward Hopper (Hardcover)

by Lloyd Goodrich (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"For all his realism, Hopper was essentially a poet," writes Goodrich, and this sumptuous album, a reissue of an out-of-print 1970 monograph, is an incomparable guide to understanding that poetry. Hopper (1882-1967) gravitated to painting lunch counters, nudes in hotel rooms, lighthouses, gas stations, rooftops--underappreciated, nakedly honest figurations of America's heartland. A prophet of loneliness, this laconic individualist captured the anarchy of American cities, the quiet melancholy of small towns and suburbs. Paradoxically, his pictures have a restorative, bracing effect--perhaps, as is suggested here, because of Hopper's emotional attachment to his native environment. The late Goodrich was director of the Whitney Museum in New York and a friend of the artist, whose own comments are interspersed with a refreshingly readable text and more than 200 full-page plates.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
A volume on Edward Hopper, whose images of 20th-century America made him one of our best-known and best-loved artists.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 306 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; Reprint edition (September 5, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810981149
• ISBN-13: 978-0810981140
• Product Dimensions: 15 x 12 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #673,421 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive in scope, accurate in plates., August 13, 1998

By A Customer

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.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What an experience, January 15, 2005

By	wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Edward Hopper (Library of American Art Series) (Hardcover)

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.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appealing format, great plates, November 3, 2003

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

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.