Arnold Zwicky's Blog

From sites that post artworks on the net (often turning up unexpected delights), two paintings, both new to me, from a single well-known artist at the beginning of the 20th century. Can you name that artist? (Answer later in this posting.)

Painting #1, Study of an Artist Painting a Portrait, from c. 1900:

(#1)

Painting #2, Still Life with Earthenware Jug, from 1903:

(#2)

One portrait, one still life. (I found the still life, with its textures and colors, and its careful placement of the masses, especially attractive.)

Now, below the second fold, the unveiling of the artist.

You might have guessed that these paintings (both in the Whitney Museum of American Art) are the work of a very talented art student. Just so:  Edward Hopper . From Wikipedia:

Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. While he is widely known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. Both in his urban and rural scenes, his spare and finely calculated renderings reflected his personal vision of modern American life.

… Hopper began art studies with a correspondence course in 1899. Soon he transferred to the New York School of Art and Design, the forerunner of Parsons The New School for Design. There he studied for six years, with teachers including William Merritt Chase, who instructed him in oil painting. Early on, Hopper modeled his style after Chase and French Impressionist masters Édouard Manet and Edgar Degas. Sketching from live models proved a challenge and a shock for the conservatively raised Hopper.

… Hopper’s first existing oil painting to hint at his use of interiors as a theme was Solitary Figure in a Theater (c.1904). During his student years, he also painted dozens of nudes, still life studies, landscapes, and portraits, including his self-portraits

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