People in the Sun

Edward Hopper, People in the Sun, 1960, oil on canvas, 40 ³⁄₈ x 60 ³⁄₈ in. (102.6 x 153.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1969.47.61

Artwork Details

Title: People in the Sun
Artist: Edward Hopper
Date: 1960
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
2nd Floor
/
North Wing
Dimensions: 40 ³⁄₈ x 60 ³⁄₈ in. (102.6 x 153.4 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Highlights: 20th Century
Subjects: Figure group
Landscape — mountain
Recreation — leisure — reading
Landscape — weather — sun
Object — furniture — chair
Object Number: 1969.47.61
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1969.47.61

Artwork Description

In People in the Sun, five people sit on the terrace of a hotel gazing toward a line of distant mountains. Stark contrasts and cool light emphasize their static poses and deadpan expressions. The painting was initially inspired by sunbathers in Washington Square Park near the New York City apartment the artist shared with his wife, artist Josephine Nivison. The two toured the country together and spent most summers on Cape Cod. Hopper changed the locale here to a western setting, drawing on memories of tourist destinations he visited in the American West. The figures, crowded into the lower left quadrant, observe but remain apart from the natural setting. The abstracted environment veers between a real view and a movie set, as if Hopper were silently replaying a film about the discomfort of city dwellers confronting the vastness of the western landscape.