"Edward Hopper's Maine"

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            Edward Hopper has always been known as one of the great American painters. He is known to be a painter that inspired many others to make their own work, and his influence is often readily portrayed in the works of other famous painters. His most famous painting, Nighthawks, is easily among the list of common paintings that even people uninterested with art are familiar with. During his time in Maine, Hopper did a series of paintings that have come to be known as his Maine works. This is the subject of both the Bowdoin College Museum of Art’s exhibit and the article, “Edward Hopper’s Maine” by Carl Little. In the article, Little points out that the exhibit contains the largest compilation of Hopper’s paintings of Maine ever displayed under the same roof, that Hopper’s Maine works matured him as an artist, and other artists used these works in particular to base their own work off of and be inspired.

            The Bowdoin College Museum of Art, where the exhibit is located, is of course found within the heart of the state of Maine. It cannot be said for sure why Hopper chose Maine to be the subject of an entire body of his paintings, but Maine is not a rare subject to be found in paintings. Many artists both before and after Hopper would find inspiration in the beauty of the state. Hopper’s Maine pieces focus on rough angles of cliffs and especially the lighthouses. For lighthouse enthusiasts, there is nothing more beautiful than the captured essence of the sea contained within one of these paintings. The exhibit contains more than just the lighthouses, however, including a startling “forty-two paintings and fifty-eight watercolors” (Little). In the article, Little claims that Hopper’s Maine style is best exemplified by Captain Upton’s House, a piece that was graciously lent to the show by the actor Steve Martin (Little). The piece is remarkably beautiful and does portray Hopper’s use of realism, a quality of his paintings for which he is known.

            Little states in the article how this body of work also led to Hopper’s evolution “from a student of Robert Henri to a master watercolorist and painter of American icons” (Little). The transition from student to master painter is not always an easy one to make for artists. However, the Maine paintings portray how Hopper listened to his teacher and used his advice to better his work. Henri always told Hopper “to make the brushstroke palpable”, and that’s exactly what Hopper did (Little). In the over seventy-two pieces collected for the exhibit, the brushstrokes are clearly part of the standout effect of Hopper’s paintings. Though most of the landscapes and lighthouses look nearly real, Hopper made sure to make use of his teacher’s advice and realize that all art should not be perfect. Realism can in fact contain bits of imperfect art within the painting. So this collection of work marks Hopper’s true understanding of the wisdom of Henri, and his evolution into a master painter.

            Since he had become a master painter, other painters were of course inspired by his work. Artists started using his defined brushstrokes as well as using Maine as the subject of their paintings. Artists such as Marsden Hartley, who painted the boulders of Maine, looked to Hopper for the proper way to paint the landscape (Little). Stow Wengenroth, as Little states in the article, found subject in Maine for his paintings that Little only hopes that Hopper could have found. Though Hopper’s Maine works seem to be thorough, there are still landscapes and landmarks that would have been simply outstanding if painted by the hand of Edward Hopper.

            Edward Hopper was a realist, American painter that spent much of his later years in Maine. He painted the landscapes and the lighthouses, using large brushstrokes to separate himself as more of a semi-realist. This body of work led to his personal growth as an artist, due to finally following the advice of his teacher Robert Henri. Hopper’s paintings then affected the works of others both in style and location. Edward Hopper will forever be known by his Maine works, but more importantly he was a realist.

Little, Carl. “Edward Hopper’s Maine.” Art N England 32 (2011): 61. Web. 21 Nov.

2011.