Houses of Squam Light, Gloucester 1923

Edward Hopper made “Houses of Squam Light, Gloucester” using watercolor, probably en plein air, and in the moment. It's that kind of painting. I imagine Hopper squinting in the bright sunshine, dabbing at the paper to capture the glare on those buildings, thinking about a system, about how to suggest the way the light bounces off the architecture. Look at the sky— a sort of pale wash. It seems that Hopper is using the blue of the sky to find the tone of the roofs and rocks below. It’s as if he’s thinking, ‘How little can I do to make it all work together?’ Those buildings, boxy and a little awkward, remind me of Fairfield Porter’s Long Island houses, and, in their own way, they speak of isolation and quietude. Artists look at other artist’s work, maybe Hopper looked at Cezanne, and then Porter looked at Hopper... It’s a never-ending conversation between artists.