Art Talk
Your say on art, artists and related topics
The media loves to bluster on about conceptual art and all the various offshoots, especially if it's loud and shocking. But what about all the exceptional artists who are quietly homing their skills in spite of the lack of media attention.
Here, in a small way, we can put the story right. We can focus on a number of artists who are doing important works and past artists who have been ignored and underrated.
Here are some of my picks on the right.
Rob Bealby
Why not have your say?
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper was a New Realism (American Realism) painter born 1882 in New York.
A little known fact is that one of his most famous paintings House by the Railroad (1925) inspired Alfred Hitchcock's house in Psycho (1960).
Hoppers work explores loneliness and isolation depicting everyday scenes and transforming them from the mundane, with a masterful use of light and shadow, to create dramatic effects, promoting a feeling of emptiness.
His paintings show excellent draughtsmanship, incorporating geometric forms to create a sense of order. He often portrayed a solitary figure in ordinary settings conveying a sense of loneliness to good effect.
He visited London and Paris in 1906-1907.
Hopper Died of natural causes on May 15 1967 in New York.
A retrospective of his paintings was held at Tate Modern, Tate Britain and Tate Liverpool in (2024) and was one of the Tate’s most successful exhibitions.
Mick Thomas
Edward Hopper Portrait
House by the Railroad 1925
Nighthawks Edward Hopper
Automat 1927 Edward Hopper