Edward Hopper, *Manhattan Bridge*, 1925–26. Watercolor and graphite pencil on paper, 13 15/16 × 19 15/16 in. (35.4 × 50.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest 70.1098 © 2022 Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Written by Caroline Johnson
Copyedited by Chloë Rain

Photo Edited by Julia Borges

The Whitney Museum of American Art, Located in New York City, recently opened an exhibition entitled Edward Hopper’s New York. It highlights the artwork done by famed American artist, Edward Hopper, and his portrayal of the city he knew best- New York City. His iconic approach to composition and authenticity penetrated through generations of artistic tradition, forging the path of a unique and new style specific to American Art. His style radically altered the trajectory of painting style in America, dissipating throughout many mediums, including the art of photography. The photographic elements of his paintings were, and continue to be, adopted by photographers, creating many parallels between his images and modern-day photography.

Hopper was born in the late nineteenth century and witnessed America as it was going through rapid periods of change. He has been referred to as “the most eloquent of America’s realists,” creating artwork which acknowledges and truthfully portrays the realities of the America he lived in. His life and work gave him an interesting perspective to the psychological and physical changes of the world, all of which he so beautifully portrayed in his paintings. He used his style to show honesty, reality, and the seemingly dull and uneventful aspects of the human experience. His works were not created to make a statement or spread a message, but rather to show life how it was. This aspect of honesty is one that is believed to be inherent to photography, and while not always the case, there are many photographers who employ this “hopper-esque” language and compositional approach to portray the same elements of reality.

Gregory Crewdson, *Seated Woman on Bed*, 2013. 45 1/16 x 57 9/16 inches. 114.5 x 146.2 cm. Digital Pigment Print. Edition of 3, plus 2 APs
**© Gregory Crewdson. Courtesy Gagosian.**

Gregory Crewdson took the adoption of Hopper’s style to an extreme extent. His photographs perfectly imitate not only the style, but the emotional and psychological depth of Hopper’s paintings, accomplished by a direct recreation of Hopper’s most iconic paintings. Crewdson himself explains his work saying “What I am interested in is the moment of transcendence, where one is transported into another place, into a perfect, still world.” His work is planned and systematic, resulting in dreamlike images that often have feelings of mystery or suspense. This response to the quick moving and ever changing world can be seen in his image Seated Woman on Bed (2013). This image is a modern-day appropriation of one of Hopper’s commonly used subjects, a female sitting alone. This figure is one of gentility, mystery and vulnerability, all aspects of humanity that so easily are regarded as unimportant.

Edward Hopper, *Morning Sun*, 1952. Oil on canvas, 28 1/8 × 40 1/8 in. (71.4 × 101.9 cm). Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio: Museum Purchase, Howald Fund. © 2022 Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

These same elements are seen in Hopper’s 1952 painting Morning Sun. The woman in the scene is not particularly engaged in any act. Her eyes gaze away from the viewer. Even her reflection in the mirror does not provide a voyeuristic view of her, but rather a scene of stillness. It’s reality, a frozen moment of life. She seems detached, entirely unaware and unbothered by anyone else aware of her current situation. There is a feeling of fear or sadness in her eyes, but it’s a situation that she seems to be handling internally, the viewer not being involved but rather observing her processing and feeling her own emotions.

Gregory Crewdson. *The Basement*, 2014. 45 1/16 x 57 9/16 inches
114.5 x 146.2 cm. Digital Pigment Print. Edition of 3, plus 2 APs
**© Gregory Crewdson. Courtesy Gagosian.**

The same elements of mystery, stillness, and this dreamlike take on reality is seen in Crewdon’s 2014 photograph The Basement. His characters, much like Hoppers, seem to be simply existing in their respective realities. It is honest and reflective of life. As the entire story of these figures are not known to the viewer, there is simply stillness.

While Crewdson’s photography is often a direct recreation of Hopper’s paintings, the stylistic influence and compositional elements introduced to American Art by Edward Hopper are seen through other contemporary photographers. Canadian Artist, Jeff Wall’s Summer Afternoons (1979) share the same compositional layout and emphasis as many of Hopper’s paintings. The sparse background and emphasis on color and light simplify the photograph. The seemingly bare background allows the viewer to focus on the figure and the shapes that are being made by the furniture and the light. The scene is not empty, but it is far from busy, leaving room for interpretation, feeling, and the honesty that accompanies scenes of everyday life.

Edward Hopper, *Room in Brooklyn*, 1932. Oil on canvas, 29 1/8 × 34 in. (74 × 86.4 cm). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Hayden Collection—Charles Henry Hayden Fund. © 2022 Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Wall’s 2004 photograph, The Eviction, again evokes the compositional elements that were introduced by Hopper. The scene is approached at a diagonal, making the composition more dramatic. It is a photograph of a regular street, with cars and houses, but lacking people. The repositioning of the scene makes it much more than just a photograph of a street, it adds drama, emphasis and importance to a seemingly mundane and everyday scene. Wall, like Hopper, uses his medium to elevate the everyday and the mundane to high art. The often-overlooked aspects of our humanity are given a stage and a status, allowing them to stand as a form of commentary on our society.

Robert Adams is another contemporary photographer whose work harkens back to the style introduced by Hopper. Adams’ black and white photographs are similar in composition to many of Hopper’s, including a flattening of the plane, a focus on light and dark, with a feeling of slow and empty worlds. His images look like reality and don’t shy away from the confusion, displacement or melancholy of everyday life. Like Hopper’s relationships with New York, Adam’s photographs are of places he knows and show his relationship with them. His Community Methodist Church, Bowen, Colorado (1965) shows the simplified forms and manipulation of light and shadow on the church in a very reverent way. It’s a serene scene, with no figures, but a focus on the building and its surroundings. This idea is also illustrated in Arriba, Colorado (1966/1981). The simplicity and focus on architecture and light evoke a feeling of emptiness, but also of home.

© Robert Adams, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Adams’ Boys in a Pickup (1970) also similarly handles figures in a Hopper-esque style. This image is about the boy’s lives and experiences, capturing them in a much more intimate way than if he were to simply show their faces. Hopper often portraiture in the same way, creating not a specific portrait but rather an embodiment of a “type” in society.

The importance is not put on the who, but rather the what. Hopper and Adams use their figures to show who makes up their world.