Talk:The Bootleggers (Hopper)

Notes

Composition: archiectural elements; composite; symbolism of opposition to Prohibition; criticism of Hopper's reuse of elements; comparison to the style of Munch?

Architectural elements (windows, roof, chimneys)
- Dormers, gables, mansard
- Continuity of the mansard roof from painting to painting
- Symbolism of the crucifix-form of the chimney.
  - No other chimneys appear as crucifixes in similar mansard-related series
  - Hidden commentary on religious support for Prohibition (and Hopper's opposition to it)
    - Based upon other opposition to religious interference among his peers
- Commentary by Sarah L. Burns (Indiana University)
- Commentary by Semkiu
Composite
- Unlike his Gloucester series (1923, 1924, 1926, 1928), where the houses and locations are often clearly named and can be traced down, The Bootleggers was not based on an actual scene but compiled from different ones. Why? Influence of cinema?
- Composites were a feature of his later work, not his early work?
  - Aligns with commentary about House by the Railroad, also a known composite (per Jo)
Prohibition
- Hopper was against Prohibition
- Hopper drank alcohol in small amounts, but his peers in his circle drank heavily
Most "dramatic" painting out of his entire catalog
- Film noir-like nature (cinematic influence?)
- Why did Hopper hold on to it for 30 years?
  - Nobody knows, but speculation abounds: too political, too controversial?
  - Semkiu 2018 makes the important point that this led to little recognition of the work
Criticism
- Hopper continues to return to and reuse the same elements
  - House on the Hill (1920)
Comparison
- Edvard Munch

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by AirshipJungleman29 talk 14:45, 3 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

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Comment or view
Article history

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... that The Bootleggers portrays the illegal alcohol trade during the Prohibition era of the Roaring '20s?

Source: Hopper, Edward (1925). "The Bootleggers". Currier Museum of Art. Retrieved 30 November 2024.

ALT1 ... that a rummy, a small fast boat used to deliver illegal alcohol from foreign ships waiting off the U.S. coast to shore, is prominently featured in The Bootleggers?

Source: Levin, Gail (1995). Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 193. ISBN 0394546644. OCLC 716046833. Quote: "...in his next oil, The Bootleggers, which shows three men in a motorboat passing before a house with a nineteenth-century mansard roof, next to which stands a lone figure. Although Hopper painted in his studio, he had made etchings of such houses, which still survive along the Hudson River near Nyack. Prohibition had been in effect since January 1920 and violations were increasingly common. In February 1925, the Attorney General denounced the large number of foreign vessels smuggling liquor into the United States. The ships waited off shore to deliver their cargoes to small boats that transported the illicit goods to shore. It was one of these small launches or "rummies" in action that Hopper chose to depict."

Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Remarks at the Islamic Center of Washington
Comment: Second QPQ: Template:Did you know nominations/Prius Missile

Created by Viriditas (talk). Number of QPQs required: 2. DYK is currently in unreviewed backlog mode and nominator has 32 past nominations.

Viriditas (talk) 00:24, 7 December 2024 (UTC).[reply]

, seems to meet the checklist items and the hook summarizes the topic well. Randy Kryn (talk) 13:11, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]