Art in the City

So I caught the latest exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago this week. Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper. They are actually two separate shows billed on one $20 ticket. The price is usually too rich for my blood but considering that the Homer gallery is truly one of a kind and all together some 200 images are on display it is only sticker shock. The museum already features a number of Winslow Homer artworks and Edward Hopper's most iconic painting "Nighthawks" is normally on display in their American Galleries. What sets this exhibit apart is the fact that never before have so many of Homer's watercolors been on view together. Winslow Homer apparently was a good businessman. He knew that the medium of water color was fast and inexpensive so he could sell lots of them cheap and quick. Many institutions bought them and put them on display so time took its toll on the paintings. Since the watercolors are prized possessions and extremely fragile most images rarely see gallery time much less travel.

The rarity of the images along with, arguably, two of the most important and familiar names in American art turned out to be merely the hook that pulled me in. The show really appealed to my sensibilities as a city dweller and my affinity for an active life outdoors. While both artists feature scenes of the wilderness Homer clearly stands out in this respect. He portrays picturesque scenes of the Adirondacks as only an avid outdoors-man could convey. Dramatic glimpses into the life of a Gloucester fisherman are not far behind.



Edward Hopper views a metropolis like no other. Upwards of 60 years a have passed since his brush touched the canvas yet his images are no less powerful. In a recent interview on NPR's All Songs Considered singer songwriter Josh Ritter mentions a painting titled Automat that he likens to an isolated individual in a crowded rock show. Such is Hopper's view of city life. This is most noted in Nighthawks which was made shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Another unique view of the city comes from riding an elevated train traveling past top floor apartments. Hopper takes a two second glimpse into someones life and immortalizes it, giving no particular narration therefore allowing the viewer to take out of it what they will.