Venice provided an escape from the pressures of London and Paris, and offered a more relaxed atmosphere for creative experimentation. What unites Sargent’s and Whistler’s Venetian work is an unforced intimacy, particularly in the genre scenes.
Twachtman’s tenure at the League, which correlated exactly to his time in Connecticut, may have helped to sharpen his focus when he stepped off the train in Greenwich.
How much of Hopper’s subliminal appeal is for a city that is unrealistically desolate, clean, and, except for the occasional male/female encounter, free of human interaction, not to mention diversity?
Walter Sickert was the studio assistant to James Whistler and friend of Edgar Degas, two of the most trenchant masters of the era, who together confirmed his direction as an artist and influenced his choices of subject matter.