Automat
Edward Hopper, 1927
Image not available: work still under copyright
Automat, painted by Edward Hopper in 1927, shows a lone woman seated before a cup of coffee in an automat restaurant at night. It was first shown at the Rehn Galleries in New York and now belongs to the Des Moines Art Center. Hopper used his wife Jo as the model, although he altered her face and figure to make her look younger and slimmer. Ambiguity is central to the painting: her elegant clothes and makeup suggest a job or an engagement, while only one glove removed hints at a brief pause, and the small empty plate suggests she has been sitting there for a while. The time of day is also unclear, and the nearly deserted room and the silent street deepen the sense of solitude that viewers often connect with urban alienation. A chair back in the lower corner places the viewer at a nearby table, as if watching unnoticed. Her crossed legs, the brightest point of the canvas, make the gaze feel faintly intrusive. The window dominates the composition, reflecting rows of lamps against the darkness outside.
- Painter
- Edward Hopper
- Date
- 1927
- Medium
- oil paint, canvas
- Dimensions
- 71 × 89 cm
- Museum
- Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines
- Genre
- genre art, nocturne
- Depicts
- cosmetics, table, chair, radiator, automat, cup with stem, window, door