Cape Cod Morning

Edward Hopper, Cape Cod Morning, 1950, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.92
Copied Edward Hopper, Cape Cod Morning, 1950, oil on canvas, 34 1⁄8 x 40 1⁄4 in. (86.7 x 102.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.92

Artwork Details

Title
Cape Cod Morning
Artist
Date
1950
Location
Dimensions
34 1⁄8 x 40 1⁄4 in. (86.7 x 102.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Landscape — time — morning
  • Landscape — Massachusetts — Cape Cod
  • Figure female — knee length
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — window
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — house
Object Number
1986.6.92
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.92

Artwork Description

In Cape Cod Morning, a woman looks out a bay window, riveted by something beyond the pictorial space. She is framed by tall, dark shutters and the shaded façade of the oriel window. The brilliant sunlight on the side of the house contrasts with the blue sky, trees, and golden grass that fill the right half of the canvas. The painting tells no story; instead, the woman’s tense pose creates a sense of anxious anticipation, and the bifurcated image implies a dichotomy between her interior space and the world beyond.


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014
Publication Label

Edward Hopper is one of America's best known and most time-honored artists. A realist who was internationally acclaimed during his lifetime, Hopper painted characteristic American subjects, from movie theaters and restaurants to New England lighthouses. The still pose of the figure and dramatic light and shadow in Cape Cod Morning evoke tense anticipation in an isolated place.

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Commemorative Guide. Nashville, TN: Beckon Books, 2015.

Exhibitions

Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
Smithsonian American Art Museum
This exhibition presents some of the most treasured paintings and sculpture from SAAM’s permanent collection, including artworks by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, George Tooker, among others.