"Rooms for Tourists" by Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper was born in Nyack, New York on July 22, 1882. He is widely known as the most important realist painter of the 20th century. Hopper's most popular works were his oil paintings, but he also created many works of art in watercolor and etching. Edward Hopper would paint the commonplaces of urban life with still, anonymous figures, and compositions that evoke a sense of loneliness. The piece I chose was Rooms for Tourists which was an oil painting created in 1945. I was drawn to this piece mainly because of the evolution of the drawing to the finished product. I also liked that his paintings of buildings would imply the human presence, even though it isn't seen. In this painting, Hopper portrays the exterior of a boarding house in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He began by making study drawings of the building but traveled there at night to work on the painting. Another thing that drew me to this piece was the contrast between the darkness outside and the light inside the building. You can also see the craftsmanship in the little details as well as what looks like a person in the bottom left window.