Ed Simon Explores Hopper's American Solitude in New Book

An excerpt from Ed Simon's 'American Elegy: Reflections on 250 Years of the Dis-United States' (Ig Publishing, June 2) examines Edward Hopper's 'Nighthawks' (1942) as a quintessential depiction of American solitude. Simon argues that Hopper's realism obscures nature, with the diner—likely a figment of imagination—serving as a third space for the lonely. Hopper's solitude is contrasted with Abstract Expressionists like Mark Rothko, whose 'Orange and Yellow' (1956) conveys a similar primordial aloneness. Simon references Gail Levin's 'Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography' and Clement Greenberg's 1965 essay in 'Art and Literature', noting Hopper's modernism despite his realist style. The piece also cites Louis Menand's 'The Free World' to contextualize Abstract Expressionism's organic avant-garde nature, rejecting the notion of CIA funding.