Nighthawk by Edward Hopper

     Edward Hopper was born in 1882. He was born in Nyack, New York. He got into artwork from a young age. During his youth, he spent a lot of time alone because he thought he looked funny. During his time alone, he read and drew a lot. After graduating from high school, his parents sent him to New York City to study art. Here, he learned an idea that would affect his artwork. He learned to find the beauty in everything. This inspired him to be a realist painter, painting real life things. After finishing art school, he made three trips to Paris, France to study painting. After finishing his studies in Paris, he returned to New York to get a job as an illustrator. He didn’t like his job because his bosses ordered him to illustrate. He still had to keep his job for money. During his free time, he kept on painting. Around this time, he sold his first piece of artwork called Sailing. After this artwork sold, he didn’t sell much, so he changed his form of artwork. He started doing etchings. During this time, he also married Josephine Nivison. He died in 1967 in New York City. (Venezia, Edward Hopper)
     My favorite piece that he produced was Nighthawk. It is an oil painting and it is very detailed. Edward Hopper was a realist painter, so he painted his restaurant at night. It is very detailed, including the name of the restaurant and other small details. The lighting outside of the restaurant is dark while the inside is very light and warm, creating contradicting light.
     I think that this contradiction of light was done on purpose to create a mood. He created a mood of mystery. The light seems to be concealing theses people from the outside. And the people inside seem serious. The man sitting down all by himself also helps to add this felling. In all, I think that Hopper is trying to say that the night is a mysterious time. The night holds secrets that aren’t meant for everyone. This one piece reminds me of another of his pieces called Automat. Automat is about a girl in the night by herself. They both provide the same feeling and focus on the night. Edward was a great painter and really showed the beauty in things.