Office at Night

In Office at Night, Hopper displays a typical office room with office furniture and two people working. The man is at his desk reading while the woman is standing near the file cabinet, awaiting instructions.

That it is night time is shown through the open window and the light on the man's desk. According to Hopper, the idea for this painting came to him during his train journeys in New York City when he would be able to catch glimpses inside the office interiors.

One interpretation is also that a physical relationship between the two people in the office is depicted through the stirring of the blinds.

Hopper was deeply influenced by artists such as William Merrit Chase, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Robert Henri, George Bellows and Rockwell Kent.

Though Hopper worked for a couple of decades in an advertising agency at a job he hated, he continued to experiment and paint through the years. He also worked with etching techniques since 1915.

As a painter in realism, Edward Hopper has worked with many daily scenes in his career. He inherited an artistic lineage from his mother and was already displaying his talent for drawing at the age of five. His parents encouraged him to work on his aptitude and provided him with everything he needed.

Hopper finally attended the New York School of Art and Design for formal training in art.

Office at Night was painted in 1940. It was displayed at the Salmagundi Club during its 75th anniversary exhibition and won a prize of $1,000. Hopper sold the painting to the Butler Art Institute and since then has exchanged hands a couple of times.

The painting was last displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Today, Office at Night is kept at the Walker Art Center in Minnesota, USA.