Room in Brooklyn

[[File:3_Washington_Square_North,_NYC.JPG|thumb|left|240px|Hopper's New York studio (top floor)]]

[[File:3_Washington_Square_North,_NYC.JPG|thumb|left|240px|Hopper's New York studio (top floor)]]

The early 1930s were a productive and successful time for Hopper, full of sales and recognition for his art. Du Bois sang Hopper's praises in the literature, commending both Hopper and his colleague [[Charles E. Burchfield]] for their contributions to a new form of modern American art.{{Failed verification|date=April 2026}} In 1931 alone, Hopper sold 30 paintings.{{Failed verification|date=April 2026}} The Academy announced in March 1932 that they had elected Hopper to their ranks, but Hopper declined their membership.

The early 1930s were a productive and successful time for Hopper, full of sales and recognition for his art. Du Bois sang Hopper's praises in the literature, commending both Hopper and his colleague [[Charles E. Burchfield]] for their contributions to a new form of modern American art.{{Failed verification|date=April 2026}} In 1931 alone, Hopper sold 30 paintings. The Academy announced in March 1932 that they had elected Hopper to their ranks, but Hopper declined their membership.

Hopper had long been unhappy by the way he was treated. The Academy, a conservative gatekeeper of new American art,{{Efn|In a 1927 article for ''The Arts'' about painter and etcher [[John Sloan]], Hopper wrote: "We remember the abuse received by all these men from press and public when they were making their fight for recognition of their principles...Some of these men at times passed the Academy juries, but more often did not...Official organizations never encourage native art, for mediocrity has much the same flavor the world over...Of the unnumbered artists of talent and even genius who did not have this technical accomplishment, many must have given up...These have been lost to American art forever."}} had spent many years ignoring his submissions. This time of his life, lasting roughly 15 years, was described as one of "disappointment and discouragement". By the early 1920s, Hopper had only sold two paintings, but there was still demand for his etchings, with Hopper producing dozens from 1915 to 1923. In the same year, he painted watercolors with Jo in [[Gloucester, Massachusetts]], with the two becoming romantically involved that summer.{{Failed verification|date=April 2026}}

Hopper had long been unhappy by the way he was treated. The Academy, a conservative gatekeeper of new American art,{{Efn|In a 1927 article for ''The Arts'' about painter and etcher [[John Sloan]], Hopper wrote: "We remember the abuse received by all these men from press and public when they were making their fight for recognition of their principles...Some of these men at times passed the Academy juries, but more often did not...Official organizations never encourage native art, for mediocrity has much the same flavor the world over...Of the unnumbered artists of talent and even genius who did not have this technical accomplishment, many must have given up...These have been lost to American art forever."}} had spent many years ignoring his submissions. This time of his life, lasting roughly 15 years, was described as one of "disappointment and discouragement". By the early 1920s, Hopper had only sold two paintings, but there was still demand for his etchings, with Hopper producing dozens from 1915 to 1923. In the same year, he painted watercolors with Jo in [[Gloucester, Massachusetts]], with the two becoming romantically involved that summer.{{Failed verification|date=April 2026}}

In works such as ''A Window on the Street'' (1912), Sloan drew on the [[Pre-Raphaelites]] and earlier Renaissance traditions, focusing on women in interiors. Hopper stripped this tradition bare, favoring a stark modern realism of urban spaces and unidentified people in tenements. These differences extended to their personal lives: Sloan supported left-wing causes and workers' rights in illustrations for socialist newspapers, while Hopper made his living as a [[commercial art|commercial illustrator]].

In works such as ''A Window on the Street'' (1912), Sloan drew on the [[Pre-Raphaelites]] and earlier Renaissance traditions, focusing on women in interiors. Hopper stripped this tradition bare, favoring a stark modern realism of urban spaces and unidentified people in tenements. These differences extended to their personal lives: Sloan supported left-wing causes and workers' rights in illustrations for socialist newspapers, while Hopper made his living as a [[commercial art|commercial illustrator]].

Although his commercial work promoted business interests, he also undermined{{Efn|Hopper also minimized the importance of his commercial work during his lifetime, believing it diminished the importance of his fine art.{{Failed verification|date=April 2026}} After his death, art historians praised Hopper's commercial art, recognizing it as a testing ground for the visual narratives and designs that would appear in his later, more successful paintings. Levin first made this connection while working on Hopper's ''[[catalogue raisonné]]'' at the time of the show for ''Edward Hopper: Prints and Illustrations'' (1979), with curator [[Kim Conaty]] developing the idea further in the exhibition ''Edward Hopper's New York'' (2022).}} similar ideas in his [[fine art]]. Hopper avoided political positions in his own work,{{Failed verification|date=April 2026}} and his friends noted he generally avoided discussing politics.{{efn|Biographers like Levin have documented Edward and Jo's "passionate antagonism to Roosevelt and the New Deal". Hopper believed that government funding for the arts, for example, would lead to second-rate work. Troyen also speculates that one major reason Hopper strenuously objected to being labeled as an [[Regionalism (art)|American Scene]] painter was because many of those artists were supported by New Deal government art programs.{{Failed verification|date=April 2026}} Levin refers to Hopper as a "staunch conservative". Even a conservative like Hopper was a victim of [[Cold War]], [[anticommunist]] paranoia. His painting ''Conference at Night'' (1949) was returned by [[Stephen Carlton Clark|Stephen Clark]] because his wife thought it resembled a "Communist gathering".}} Regarding the etching ''East Side Interior'' (1922), he told a curator in 1956, "No implication was intended with any ideology concerning the poor and oppressed. The interior itself was my main interest—simply a piece of New York, the city that interests me so much."

Although his commercial work promoted business interests, he also undermined{{Efn|Hopper also minimized the importance of his commercial work during his lifetime, believing it diminished the importance of his fine art. After his death, art historians praised Hopper's commercial art, recognizing it as a testing ground for the visual narratives and designs that would appear in his later, more successful paintings. Levin first made this connection while working on Hopper's ''[[catalogue raisonné]]'' at the time of the show for ''Edward Hopper: Prints and Illustrations'' (1979), with curator [[Kim Conaty]] developing the idea further in the exhibition ''Edward Hopper's New York'' (2022).}} similar ideas in his [[fine art]]. Hopper avoided political positions in his own work,{{Failed verification|date=April 2026}} and his friends noted he generally avoided discussing politics.{{efn|Biographers like Levin have documented Edward and Jo's "passionate antagonism to Roosevelt and the New Deal". Hopper believed that government funding for the arts, for example, would lead to second-rate work. Troyen also speculates that one major reason Hopper strenuously objected to being labeled as an [[Regionalism (art)|American Scene]] painter was because many of those artists were supported by New Deal government art programs.{{Failed verification|date=April 2026}} Levin refers to Hopper as a "staunch conservative". Even a conservative like Hopper was a victim of [[Cold War]], [[anticommunist]] paranoia. His painting ''Conference at Night'' (1949) was returned by [[Stephen Carlton Clark|Stephen Clark]] because his wife thought it resembled a "Communist gathering".}} Regarding the etching ''East Side Interior'' (1922), he told a curator in 1956, "No implication was intended with any ideology concerning the poor and oppressed. The interior itself was my main interest—simply a piece of New York, the city that interests me so much."

==Themes==

==Themes==