Edward Hopper "Office at Night"


   Let's go back a few years and find a scene of unspoken drama.  Edward Hopper is our artist (1882-1967), a man who lived in New York City and spend many hours going to the movies. Maybe he picked up the idea for this painting from one of them? 
   Let's pick out some of the elements of the painting that help create this dramatic scene:

   First, the window shade, it's moving!  The window must be open and a breeze is coming in to cool a warm room, without air conditioning.  Looking on the floor, beyond and a little behind the desk, we see a paper has blown to the floor.  

   On the lower left corner is another desk. Since it contains the typewriter, and the man's desk does not have one, it is safe to assume this is the woman's desk and he is her boss or supervisor.  Having both desks in the same room indicates it is a small firm.   Notice her desk is not luminated as his is. 

   The lighting is very strange.  There appears to be light coming in from outside the window, maybe a neon light.  Our title, as well as the darkness beyond the room indicates it is after normal business hours when others have gone home.  We see no fixtures which illuminate this bright room.  

  So now, our main characters.   Of the two, she seems most important.  Why did Hopper paint her with such a tight fitting dress?  Although she is standing in front of the filing cabinet, she is turned, facing him. Is she speaking?  Is she waiting for him to pick up the paper?  Or is she listening, waiting for him to speak? Why is the door open, what does this mean?  

    This is a very typical Edward Hopper (1882-1967) painting.  He loves tension, and he has created a lot here.  So he presents a situation, a drama and allows us to make decisions about what will happen next, what will be our story about these people, how will this story end?

    The composition is interesting.  There is a huge divide cutting diagonally across the work, with the bottom half the darker with the action, and the top the light and bright wall. 

    Hopper painted, "Office at Night" in 1940.  It is an oil on canvas measuring, unframed, 22 3/16 inches by 25 1/8 inch, so not a particularly large painting.    It is part of the permanent collection of the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.   

Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do.

Comments

  1. Charlotte HarguthMay 3, 2022 at 8:26 AM

    I can't help having a vision of a modern office to compare with this, where the CEO would certainly have his private office. No plants, no coffee, just the stark necessities, including the parasol stand behind the empty chair. The artist has given the secretary an alluring figure. but likely unintentional on her part. I think she is looking at the piece of paper dropped on the floor, and they may be having a conversation. The large area of white wall gives prominence to the figures. I like to think of where we are viewing this scene from!! Fun painting.

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