Etching, 1921. 175x210 mm; 7x8 1/4 inches, full margins. Edition of approximately 500. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by The New Republic, New York. A brilliant, luminous, richly-inked impression of this important etching, with very strong contrasts.
Hopper (1882-1967) began making etchings and drypoints in 1915 with the help of fellow artist Martin Lewis (1881-1962), and he produced 70 prints before he ceased etching in 1928 to focus solely on painting. Night Shadows is a particularly iconic image, epitomizing Hopper's propensity for conveying isolation and stillness through the use of heavy chiaroscuro and strong, dark hatching throughout. He used a bird's-eye vantage point with extended shadows and darkness to intensify the suspense and drama.
The artist depicted this same street corner in a painting from 1913, Corner Saloon, now in The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Unlike Hopper's other prints, which he printed himself on his personal etching press in very small editions, this is the only etching that was printed in a larger edition, for The New Republic, New York, and published in a limited edition portfolio for their December 1924 issue. Levin 82.
