WWII brought with it a lack of focus on the art world. The war effort consumed our thoughts and concerns and art was hindered by this shift in ideals. Nighthawks, painted by Edward Hopper, was one of the few notable pieces from the war. Nighthawks was said, “to be on every dorm wall in the country, and an icon of art.”[1] It was completed in January 1942, just a few months after Pearl Harbor and the US entering WWII.
Hopper was raised in a well off family in New York where he showed promise in art at a very young age. His parents encouraged him to become a commercial artist in order to have a consistent income. Although he became a successful artist working with an advertising firm, Hopper truly found a niche with oil painting. He became famous for how he depicted isolation in the modern world through his oil paintings. Nighthawks became one of his most famous paintings of isolation as it gained instant recognition.
Nighthawks is an insightful look into the feel of the American home front as it depicts a lonely night in NYC. American painting typically presents NYC as bright, exciting, and crowded with people. Here, in Nighthawks, we see NYC in a new light. A scene that is covered in shadow and shows certain stillness that we rarely see from city depictions.
The empty New York streets are a symbol of our soldiers over seas [2]. Even the men and women in the building are somber. “Nighthawks” refers to the three people sitting at the counter, according to Hopper. Even though these people are not in the war, it is all they think about; they are trapped in it. The café has no door. It reflects how are citizens back home and our soldiers overseas are stuck. Stuck in a cause they believe in, but nonetheless, stuck.
This oil on canvas sold shortly after its completion to the Art Institute of Chicago for $3,000.[3] It was Edward Hopper’s most famous work and the work of art still resides in Chicago today. Once the war ended people were still able to resonate with the isolation and loneliness that this painting portrays. It was a product of American War time, but it is a timeless American icon.
[1] Harris JC. 2006. Nighthawks. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 63(7):715-716. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.63.7.715.
[2] Harris JC. 2006. Nighthawks
[3] Wendy Beckett. 2001. American Masterpieces. Sister Wendy Beckett Collection. (Excerpt).
Edward Hopper (1882-1967), American. Nighthawks, 1942. Oil on canvas, 84.1 × 152.4 cm. Friends of American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago. Photography © The Art Institute of Chicago.
Hopper was raised in a well off family in New York where he showed promise in art at a very young age. His parents encouraged him to become a commercial artist in order to have a consistent income. Although he became a successful artist working with an advertising firm, Hopper truly found a niche with oil painting. He became famous for how he depicted isolation in the modern world through his oil paintings. Nighthawks became one of his most famous paintings of isolation as it gained instant recognition.
Nighthawks is an insightful look into the feel of the American home front as it depicts a lonely night in NYC. American painting typically presents NYC as bright, exciting, and crowded with people. Here, in Nighthawks, we see NYC in a new light. A scene that is covered in shadow and shows certain stillness that we rarely see from city depictions.
The empty New York streets are a symbol of our soldiers over seas [2]. Even the men and women in the building are somber. “Nighthawks” refers to the three people sitting at the counter, according to Hopper. Even though these people are not in the war, it is all they think about; they are trapped in it. The café has no door. It reflects how are citizens back home and our soldiers overseas are stuck. Stuck in a cause they believe in, but nonetheless, stuck.
This oil on canvas sold shortly after its completion to the Art Institute of Chicago for $3,000.[3] It was Edward Hopper’s most famous work and the work of art still resides in Chicago today. Once the war ended people were still able to resonate with the isolation and loneliness that this painting portrays. It was a product of American War time, but it is a timeless American icon.
[1] Harris JC. 2006. Nighthawks. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 63(7):715-716. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.63.7.715.
[2] Harris JC. 2006. Nighthawks
[3] Wendy Beckett. 2001. American Masterpieces. Sister Wendy Beckett Collection. (Excerpt).
Edward Hopper (1882-1967), American. Nighthawks, 1942. Oil on canvas, 84.1 × 152.4 cm. Friends of American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago. Photography © The Art Institute of Chicago.