Edward Hopper (1882–1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker, widely recognized for paintings of modern American life. He studied illustration and painting in New York, then worked as a commercial illustrator while developing his independent art. Early in his career, he produced illustrations for magazines, including Adventure and other periodicals; these assignments helped support him before his paintings brought wider recognition.

Hopper’s mature work often depicts solitary figures and buildings in urban or rural settings, with carefully structured light and a sense of stillness. Paintings such as Nighthawks later became familiar images in American art, although The pulp-art catalog records his work in publications during the 1910s and 1920s. He also made etchings and other prints.