Edward Hopper
On this day in 1882 Edward Hopper, the American painter whose realistic depictions of everyday urban scenes shock the viewer into recognition of the strangeness of familiar surroundings, was born. Although he is mostly known for his city and rural scenes, he had a lifelong enthusiasm for the sea that was developed when he was a boy in Nyack, New York, which was then a prosperous Hudson River port with an active shipyard. Years later, in 1934, he and his wife built a house and studio in South Truro, Massachusetts; he produced several oil paintings and watercolors manifesting his avid interest in nautical subjects.
Despite its bright palette and seemingly serene subject, Ground Swell echoes the themes of loneliness and escape typical of Hopper's oeuvre. The blue sky, sun-kissed figures, and vast rolling water strike a calm note in the picture; the visible disengagement of the figures from each other and their noticeable preoccupation with the bell buoy placed at the center of the canvas, however, call into question this initial sense of serenity. The lone dark element in a sea of blues and whites, the buoy confronts the small catboat in the middle of an otherwise empty seascape. Its purpose, to emit a warning sound in advance of unseen or imminent danger, renders its presence in the picture ominous. The cirrus clouds in the blue sky—often harbingers of approaching storms—reinforce this sense of disturbance in the otherwise peaceful setting. Although Hopper resisted offering explanations of his paintings, the signs of impending danger here may also reference a more severe disturbance: during the time that Hopper worked on Ground Swell, from August to September 15, 1939, when World War II broke out in Europe.
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P.S. Sea Watchers is another sea painting by Edward Hopper. Grab your coffee, sit back, and read about this beautiful painting. <3