ARTS -1301- 82701
Edward Hopper was an American realist painter who is widely known for his oil paintings. Born
in Nyack, New York in 1899, he started to show an interest in art at the age of 5. Among his
most notorious work, his painting titled “Office at Night” is one of the top picks for many.
Completed in 1940 using oil on canvas, the painting can be found in Minneapolis, Minnesota at
the Walker Art Center where it has resided since the center purchased the piece of art in 1948.
The painting depicts an office environment with a man sitting at a desk looking over some
documents while a slim figured, attractive woman stands a few inches from him in front of a
slightly opened file cabinet. Although the painting depicts an office setting, there is no clues or
indications about the type of office setting depicted in the work of art. However, even though
the painting does not provide much insight into the type of environment, the elements used in
the painting allow the viewers to create assumptions and connections with the painting. In this
painting, the elements of color and Line work help establish the mood or feeling of the painting
while a few key items establish a form of movement that can be used to describe the overall
message in the painting.
Looking closely at the painting, one thing that stands out from the work is the lack of Warmth in
the painting. The artist used very cool tones of green and brownish red throughout the entire
painting. The carpet, wall and lamp on the desk all seem to follow the same color palette of
green while the furniture and doors seem to follow the palette of brownish red. The woman in
the picture is also wearing a blueish- green dress and the file cabinet she is Infront of seems to
also be of a greenish shade. After looking at the painting and analyzing the color choices it
could be inferred that the overall mood of the painting is one of boringness or loneliness. The
artist furthermore emphasizes this mood using linear work, specifically the transverse lines that
are used throughout.
The painting itself is painted at an angle where there is really nothing centered in the piece. On
the lower left side, we see a second desk which can be assumed to be the desk of the woman in
the painting but there is no real clear picture as to what lies behind or to the right of this desk.
The use of transverse lines adds to the feeling of loneliness by making the space appear smaller.
I believe the choice of color and the use of transverse lines depict the feelings of working in an
office environment and the feeling of being isolated from everyone. Working in an office setting
can be very boring, lonely, and at times depressing as there is usually little interaction with
others outside of the people you work with if any and the spaces are usually small and
compact. In this painting it can be inferred that the woman is the assistant or secretary to the
man and there seems to be no association with anyone else other than each other however,
based on the seriousness in the men’s demeanor and the fact that he seems to be 100%
focused on the documents at hand, one could imply there is not much of a friendship or
personal relationship between them other than the usual employer/employee relationship.
On the other hand, we can see there is an element of movement at play in the painting. Looking
closely at the work of art, one can see there seems to be some form of breeze coming from the
window as the rope on the blind seems to be curved indicating a force is acting upon the string
to make it curve. This can be confirmed by the piece of paper on the floor that appears to have
been blown away by such breeze. We can see the woman is aware of the document on the
floor as she is staring at it while the man seems to be unaware. I think the use of movement is
being portrayed to express the social dynamics at play in this painting.
Although we do not know the specific relationship between them, we can make a few
assumptions based on the elements used and the era the picture was completed. The painting
was completed in 1940 at a time where women were slowly joining the workforce mostly
because of the effects World War II was having in the workforce. At this time however, most
women were typically doing “Pink Collar” jobs witch mostly involved secretarial or care roles.
We can assume the man could be a lawyer or businessperson and the woman is simply his
assistant or secretary. We can see the dynamics of power roles portrayed by the idea that she is
waiting on him to let her know what else he may need from the file cabinet. Furthermore, her
expression as she looks at the paper on the ground gives the idea that she is asking herself
“Who’s going to pick that up”? Another aspect that could explain the overall idea in the
painting would be the location of her desk in comparison to his. His desk is directly in front of
the door while hers is tucked a way in the corner furthermore explaining the dynamic that he is
the boss, and she is the secretary.
Overall, the painting is very intriguing and is one open to interpretation. Many theories exist
about the relationship between the two from a simple work relationship to the theory that
there is a romance dynamic at play. Edward Hopper is known for his paintings and pieces with
no clear message or tone but rather open for viewers to make personal connections and
interpretations. Many of his paintings have similar elements and principles throughout that
could be used to describe his style and purpose for creating artwork. The only insight Hopper
provided for this painting was that the idea originally arose from the office buildings he glanced
through for a moment while using the train system in his town. It appears no one will ever
know the true motives or story behind the painting or the characters However, that element of
mystery is what makes for great art.
Works Cited
“Edward Hopper Biography, Life & Quotes.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist/hopperedward/life-and-legacy/.
“Office at Night, 1940 by Edward Hopper.” Office at Night, 1940 by Edward Hopper,
www.edwardhopper.net/office-at-night.jsp.
Weiss, jerry N. “Hopper Drawing.” The Drawing Magazine.com, Summer 2013. pp 28-37,
HOPPER DRAWING.: EBSCOhost (oclc.org)