Lecture 2 - The Spaces Between Us: The Art of Edward Hopper

The American realist painter, Edward Hopper, understood how to communicate a sense of place and mood like no other. In his paintings the psychological tension of alienation and loneliness are placed in the context of everyday settings: offices, diners, petrol stations, hotels and homes. Their almost eerie disquiet is offset by his use of vivid colour, theatrical lighting and a finely tuned talent for composition. His work is often seen as ambiguous in intention, whether placed in an urban, coastal or rural setting, yet more than a half-century after his death in 1967, Hopper’s art tells us much not only much about the artist and his America but also about ourselves.