Edward Hopper. Nighthawks. 1942
Chicago museum audio-guide 2012
Edward Hopper is a widely celebrated realist painter, born in New York State on July 22 1882 in and who died on May 15, 1967 at the age of 84. He depicted many urban and rural scenes reflecting his personal vision of modern American life.
Nighthawks is a 1942 painting that shows people sitting in a diner late at night. It is Hopper's most famous work and is one of the best- known paintings in American art. Within months of its completion, it was sold to the Art Institute of Chicago for $3,000,[1] and has remained there ever since.
The term "night-hawk", is used figuratively to describe someone who stays up late, and is a name shared with a real family of birds.
The scene takes place in a city at night and shows the brilliant interior of a restaurant on the corner of an empty street, seen from the outside. There is a long wood counter and many stools, some metal tanks for tea or coffee. The light inside is very bright and contrasts with the dark, quiet street.
There are 4 people in the diner: the waiter in a white uniform behind the counter is a good looking blond boy. There is a girl in a red blouse, brown hair, sitting on a stool, eating a sandwich. Next to her on the right, there is a man in a dark suit, grey hat, and a blue shirt holding a cigarette. The other person is seen from the back and also has a suit and a hat.
It conveys a mood of loneliness and desolation by the presence of anonymous, non-communicating figures.
