Edward Hopper
 ”Hopper simply happens to be a bad painter.  But if he were a better painter, he would, most likely, not be so superior an artist”
Early Life
was born in upper Nyack, New York
was a good student in grade school and showed talent in drawing at age five
was highly impressed by Rembrandt, particularly his Night Watch which he said was “the most wonderful thing of his I have seen, it’s past belief in its reality
In 1913, at the famous Armory Show, Hopper sold his first painting, Sailing (1911), which he painted over an earlier self-portrait
South Truro, Maine
At the Brooklyn Museum in 1923, One of his paintings The Mansard Roof, was purchased by the museum for its permanent collection for the sum of $100.
The Hoppers (Edward and his wife Josephine Nivision)
spent their summers in South Truro,Maine,which was 
highly influenced his paintings and themes
Hopper's themes & art
 oscillates between overt and latent sexuality; women are shown naked often reading or looking out a window, or in the workplace. They are solitary figures, who interact with the environment
His primary emotional themes are solitude, loneliness, regret, boredom, and resignation and he demonstrates these emotions in various environments, including the office, in public places, in apartments, on the road , or on vacation.
Nighthawks (1942) 
general gloominess all over the country; Hopper started to paint it right after the attack of Pearl Harbor
"...urban street is empty outside the diner, and inside none of the three patrons is apparently looking or talking to the others; all are lost in their own thoughts. Two are a couple, while the third is a man sitting alone, with his back to the viewer. The couple's noses resemble beaks, perhaps a reference to the title. The diner's sole attendant, looking up from his work, appears to be peering out the window past the customers. His age is indeterminate."- from wikipedia
Other influences
House by the Railroad (1925) ...
...& Psycho (1960)
Hopper's metamorphosis triggered by realist representation stems from psychological and aesthetical reasons.
feeling of desolation
Early Sunday Morning (1930)                                                   
rural New England scenes, such as Gas (1940)
experienced with Surrealism : Rooms by the Sea (1951)
The City (1927)
loneliness
 “A nation’s art is greatest when it most reflects the character of its people.”
 - Edward Hopper
Art should mirror everyday life.
His last oil painting: Two Comedians (1966)
A year later he died in his studio.