No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination.

When it comes to art, a steady hand and technical proficiency will take a creator only so far. It is imagination that drives artistic endeavors to greater heights, as painter Edward Hopper was well aware. Hopper was a realist painter, but within that realism he painted windows into the soul — quite literally, as many of his most famous paintings, such as “Nighthawks” and “New York Interior,” place the viewer in a voyeuristic position, looking through literal windows at the poetic scenes unfolding inside. His paintings often have a strong dramatic narrative that go beyond reality into the thoughts and emotions of his subjects. “The inner life of a human being,” Hopper said, “is a vast and varied realm.”