Edward Hopper was born in Nyack, New York. His father owned a dry goods store and he worked there when he was growing up.

He wanted to be an artist from the time he was young. His parents, fearing he could not make a decent living with his painting, encouraged him to become a commercial artist.

He studied at the New York School of Art for seven years. Then he worked as a commercial artist for many years until he was nearly forty years old.

In 1924 he married Josephine Nivison. She, also an artist, was forty years old. He was forty-two. Theirs was a stormy marriage. She felt that he did not support her as an artist, and he thought she paid too much attention to her cat and not enough attention to him. But they relied on each other, and she modeled for him.

In 1927 he and Jo bought a two-year-old Dodge car. It was just one more thing to fight about. He was not a good driver, but he didn't want her to learn how to drive. When she finally did get a driver's license, he didn't want her to drive the car. They were not the most compatible couple.

Hopper made three trips to Paris in his lifetime, but his art reflects mainly his life in America. He painted scenes of ordinary things you would see in the city and the country; bus stations, office buildings, restaurants, lighthouses etc. People in his paintings appear lonely and absorbed in their own thoughts.

In 1942 he painted Nighthawks. It was bought by the Art Institute of Chicago and he at last became a recognized artist. In the following years he received many awards and medals for his work.

He died in 1967 at the age of 85. Jo died just ten months later. They were married 43 years.