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Nighthawks

Scene in a diner, viewed through wrap-around glass windows, at night on an empty urban street. A light-skinned man and woman, he in a suit and she in a red dress, sit together at a triangular wood bar, eyes downcast. At left sits another man, his back to the viewer. Behind the counter is a light-skinned man in a white uniform. The interior lights cast a yellow glow that spills onto the street in pale green. Above the diner a sign reads, "Phillies."

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  • Scene in a diner, viewed through wrap-around glass windows, at night on an empty urban street. A light-skinned man and woman, he in a suit and she in a red dress, sit together at a triangular wood bar, eyes downcast. At left sits another man, his back to the viewer. Behind the counter is a light-skinned man in a white uniform. The interior lights cast a yellow glow that spills onto the street in pale green. Above the diner a sign reads, "Phillies."

Date:

1942

Artist:

Edward Hopper (American, 1882–1967)

About this artwork

About Nighthawks Edward Hopper recollected, “unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city.” In an all-night diner, three customers sit at the counter opposite a server, each appear to be lost in thought and disengaged from one another. The composition is tightly organized and spare in details: there is no entrance to the establishment, no debris on the streets. Through harmonious geometric forms and the glow of the diner’s electric lighting, Hopper created a serene, beautiful, yet enigmatic scene. Although inspired by a restaurant Hopper had seen on Greenwich Avenue in New York, the painting is not a realistic transcription of an actual place. As viewers, we are left to wonder about the figures, their relationships, and this imagined world.

Status

On View, Gallery 262

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Edward Hopper

Title

Nighthawks

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1942

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

signed l.r. "Edward Hopper"

Dimensions

84.1 × 152.4 cm (33 1/8 × 60 in.)

Credit Line

Friends of American Art Collection

Reference Number

1942.51

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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