This is the 16th post in our Artist of the Week series.
Edward Hopper was born in 1882 in New York. He was born into a middle class family and was a very good student. He showed a talent in drawing at the young age of five. His parents encouraged his art and always keep him supplied with everything he needed including instructional books.
By his teens he was working in inks and charcoals drawing just about anything. In 1895, he created his first signed oil painting Rowboat in Rocky Cove.
In 1905 he got work as an illustrator but quickly grew to hate it. He returned to studying his own art and even went on a tour of Europe. In 1913 he sold his first painting and he hoped this would lead to more sails but this was not to be the case. In 1915 he began working on etchings and by 1920 he started to get recognition for his works.
In 1923 he had a major breakthrough in his art. Six of his paintings were exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, one of which the museum paid $100 to have admitted into their permanent collection. Critics began raving about his work and during a show the following year he sold all of his watercolors.
The following years Edward's career continued to flourish and he became one of the few artists to be living while his artwork experienced wide acceptance. He remained active in painting throughout the 1930s and 1940s but after that his health began failing and preventing him from working. He died in 1967.
To learn more about Edward Hopper visit WebMuseum.
