The distinctive melancholy found in Edward Hopper’s (1882–1967) paintings often leads viewers to wonder about the more intimate details of the artist’s life. Where exactly did this master of loneliness live and work? What influenced him most while he was working on his great paintings of America?

In this wonderful, simply structured A-to-Z book, Ulf Küster pursues these themes, telling us a great deal about the painter and his interests without losing sight of the work itself. Küster takes us through the ABCs of Hopper’s life and work, from “American landscape,” “Buick,” “Cape Cod,” “Dos Passos,” “El[evated] Train,” “Frost,” “Goethe,” “House,” “Illustration” and “Josie” to “Shadow and Sunlight”—and of course the keyword, “Time.”

On the way he opens up many new doors and insights, enriching the views of Hopper’s paintings and the possible reinterpretation of them. Touching on lesser-known facets of the artist’s life such as his passion for literature, as well as his early pursuits in illustration as a career, this entertaining and informative book provides a closer look into the life of this master in American realism, who continues to be a source of inspiration for countless painters, photographers and filmmakers today.