Description
Painted during the height of the Great Depression, Edward Hopper’s “New York, New Haven and Hartford” tackles the themes of transience and aloneness that frequently recurred in both his life and work. Titled after the East Coast rail line of the same name, this American realism oil painting illustrates a landscape that is clearly far between stops. The horizontal railroad runs past a bleak house and shed surrounded by trees, cut off from the rest of the world apart from the train that periodically passes by. Like in many works from this period, Hopper uses opposites to create a sense of harmony and oneness out of the foreboding still air. The sharp building angles are countered by the soft and rounded trees while the bright sunny sky offsets the dark shadowing of the hilly landscape. The attention to detail and balanced design give this Hopper railway painting recreation a sense of hope and will give visitors cause for contemplation.
