[Aquanet] Hopper Exhibit, National Gallery of Art

[Barry Lindley]

I'm in Washington, DC, where a large Edward Hopper show just opened.  Although it includes a lot of the famous oils (Nighthawks, Sunday Morning, Hills at Truro, New York Movie, etc.), there are also a lot of fine watercolors.  Viewing these works in real life, it is easy to note some of the things that made Hopper such a fine painter.
Almost every painting has strong value contrast, and counterpoint of geometric shapes and softer portions.
Typically, all the darkest darks are connected throughout the painting to provide an interesting shape, with a few very light value geometric shapes (often sunlight on a house or through a window on a floor)  locked into the dark shape.
He often used telephone/power poles as a compositional device, perhaps tilted for that purpose, but never included the wires.
He often chose unusual points of view, and used strong cropping.  Although he clearly was a master of perspective, he often distorted it deliberately for overall pictorial purpose.

If you have never seen his "Cars and Rock", it's worth tracking down an image on the net.

It's a large, wonderful show, well worth a visit to Washington - and a Turner show opens Oct 1, and Ansel Adams photos are on deisplay at the Corcoran Gallery.

Barry
 
 
Barry D. Lindley 
Paintings and Drawings 
www.aristotle.net/~blindley
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