Hopper Drawing

All artwork by Edward Hopper (1882-1967). Study for Route 6, Eastham, 1941, fabricated chalk, charcoal and graphite pencil on paper, digital image copyright Whitney Museum of American Art. 

Often described as a realist painter, Edward Hopper was a traditional draftsman who formulated concepts into detailed preparatory sketches, making a series of drawings in the development of a painting. The sketch for Route 6, Eastham balances architectural detail with Hopper's written notes, aiding him in remembering colors and light qualities back in the studio. His drawings present everyday aspects of the contemporary United States, many of New York City, and contain the themes and essential elements that were later developed in his paintings--the city at night, railroads, highways, suburban mansions, lobbies, apartment houses, offices, and movie theaters. 

The picture is planned very carefully in my mind before starting it, but except for a few small black and white sketches made from the fact, I have no other concrete data, but rely on refreshing my memory by looking often at the subject. 

An exhibition surveying Hopper's achievements as a draftsman shows at the Whitney Museum. "Hopper Drawing" is the first major museum exhibition to focus on the drawings and creative process of the artist, tracing interconnections between observation and invention in sketches and paintings, most from 1925 to 1950. "By comparing related studies to paintings, we can see the evolution of specific ideas as the artist combined, through drawing, his observations of the world with his imagination," says curator Carter Foster. "He got to his great oil paintings through drawing." 

 Study for New York Movie, 1938 or 1939, fabricated chalk on paper, Whitney Museum of American Art. 

Conventional and cinematic theater scenes are present throughout Hopper's work. During the 1920s and 1930s he was an avid theatergoer, admired film noir and was familiar with New York's movie houses. For New York Movie, he created 52 preparatory sketches in black chalk, the most comprehensive series of drawings for any of his paintings. Hopper recorded the interiors from different movie palaces, combining and transforming lobby and auditorium details from the Palace, Sheridan, Republic, Strand, and Globe theaters into the finished oil. He often created sparsely populated, moody environs of solitary figures and small gatherings, depicted in an ambiguous narrative. 

It is no exact transcription of a place, but pieced together from sketches and mental impressions of things in the vicinity. Any psychological ideas will have to be supplied by the viewer...You know, there are many thoughts, many impulses that go into a picture. 

Study for New York Movie, 1938 or 1939, fabricated chalk on paper, Whitney Museum of American Art. 

For the usherette, Jo Hopper posed in their apartment hallway. She modeled for almost all of the women in his paintings. 

New York Movie, 1939, oil on canvas, the Museum of Modern Art. Copyright Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper, licensed by Whitney Museum of American Art. Digital image copyright the Museum of Modern Art/licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY. 

In an interview from 1961 with Hopper scholar Brian O'Doherty:

O'Doherty: Are your paintings reflective of the isolation of modern life?

Hopper: It may be true. It may not be true.

O'Doherty: What draws you to the dark landscapes you paint?

Hopper: I suppose it's just me. 

Edward Hopper sketching in Paris, 1907, gelatin silver print. 

Between 1906 and 1910, Hopper went on three trips abroad to England, Holland, Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Paris, the latter which he called, "A most paintable city...The light was different from anything I had ever known. The shadows were luminous, more reflected light." He sketched outdoors and studied European artists in museums--the Impressionists, Degas, Manet, and Goya. 

Josephine and Edward Hopper, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, 1927, gelatin silver print. 

They spent summers and early autumns in South Truro on Cape Cod, where they went on sketching excursions and painted watercolors of nearby locations and vernacular architecture. During the remainder of the year, residing in a Greenwich Village studio. New England's coastal communities and New York City were the two main sources for Hopper's subject matter. 

Study for Office at Night, 1940, fabricated chalk and charcoal on paper, Whitney Museum of American Art. 

Hopper recorded everyday scenes, imbuing them with mystery through strongly defined lighting, a sense of stillness and silence, cropped compositions, and unusual viewpoint angles. The drawings for Office at Night are highly finished compared to his sketches for other paintings. Typically, he preferred to develop the composition on the canvas. 

Study for Office at Night, 1940, fabricated chalk and graphite pencil on paper, Whitney Museum of American Art. 

The viewpoint, lighting and figures were continually refined--differences within a series of drawings similar to a progression of cinematic stills. Hopper influenced filmmakers, artists, writers, photographers, and musicians: Alfred Hitchcock, Ridley Scott, Wim Wenders, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Ernest Hemingway, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, and Tom Waits. 

Office at Night, 1940, oil on canvas, Walker Art Center. 

The picture was probably first suggested by many rides on the "L" train in New York City after dark and glimpses of office interiors that were so fleeting as to leave fresh and vivid impressions on my mind. Any more than this, the picture will have to tell, but I hope it will not tell any obvious anecdote, for none is intended. 

Study for Morning Sun, 1952, fabricated chalk and graphite pencil on paper. Copyright Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper, licensed by and digital image copyright Whitney Museum of American Art. 

On view through October 6 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street, New York, NY.