Night Shadows

1921

Night Shadows, 1921. Edward Hopper (American, 1882–1967). Etching; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Malcolm L. McBride 1959.298 © Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY Edward Hopper’s experiential approach to an urban nighttime scene stands in contrast to the straightforward anecdotes found in works by his Ashcan School predecessors. Like the setting of a detective film, a city street corner in this image is seen from above, as if from an elevated train platform. An unseen streetlight in the lower left corner casts a long diagonal shadow that ends in a doorway, while a single figure strides under the light of the lamp. Hopper involves the viewer on a sensory level, inviting recall of the sound of hollow footsteps on an empty street. The unsettling atmosphere of this print created with extreme angles and long shadows is akin to film noir cinema of the same era.