Page 294 - Swann Galleries - Old Master Through Modern Prints - Sale 2312 - May 1, 2013

374 ● EDWARD HOPPER
Night Shadows.
Etching, 1921. 175x210 mm; 7x81/4 inches,
full margins. Edition of approximately 500.
Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by
The New Republic, NewYork. A superb,
richly-inked impression of this important
etching, with very strong contrasts and no
sign of wear.
Based in NewYork, Hopper (1882-1967)
studied at NY Institute of Art and Design
and was instructed by prominent artists
likeWilliam Merrit Chase and by Robert
Henri, a progenitor of the Ashcan School
of American Art. Though he traveled to
Europe several times in the early 1900s
when avant-garde movements like Cubism
and Surrealism were receiving much
attention, he was not greatly swayed by
their influence and instead was attracted to
the iconic works and dark palette of
Rembrandt and other Old Masters.
Hopper’s work is characterized by a sense
of silence, stillness and isolation; he rarely
depicted scenes that are chaotic or show
any genuine camaraderie.
He began making etchings and drypoints
in 1915 with the help of fellow artist
Martin Lewis (see lots 377, 378 and 378A)
and he produced 70 prints before he
stopped in 1928 to focus solely on painting.
Night Shadows is a particularly iconic
image, epitomizing Hopper’s propensity
for conveying isolation and stillness
through the use of heavy chiaroscuro and
strong, dark hatching. He used a bird’s-eye
vantage point with extended shadows and
darkness to intensify the sense of suspense
and drama. The artist depicted this same
street corner in a painting from 1913,
Corner Saloon, now in the MoMA, New
York. Unlike Hopper’s other etchings,
which he printed himself on his personal
press in very small editions, this is the only
etching that was printed commercially for
The New Republic, New York, and
published in a limited edition portfolio for
their December 1924 issue. Levin 82.
[30,000/50,000]