Cape Cod Afternoon

“It so persuasively embodies the late summer light we all recall longingly during these dark winter days.”
Richard Armstrong, The Henry J. Heinz II Director of Carnegie Museum of Art

By Kimberly Tarquinio

“Edward Hopper’s work made him one of the most respected American painters of the 20th century,” says Richard Armstrong, The Henry J. Heinz II Director of Carnegie Museum of Art.

While Hopper’s work may not appear avant-garde today, his paintings appeared in 22 different Carnegie Internationals between 1924 and 1967. Trained at the New York School of Art, Hopper was a realist painter whose work recorded the starkness and vastness of America.

Hopper painted Cape Cod Afternoon in 1936 during the Great Depression and the beginnings of war in Europe. Modern in its simplicity, it reflects the Puritan values of America’s past. The painting appeared in Carnegie Museum of Art’s 1937 International and was purchased through the museum’s Patrons Art Fund at the close of the exhibition. Today, it remains an important part of the museum’s collection and a visitor favorite.

Hopper’s work is typically distinguished by its simplicity, clarity, and subtle psychological edge, perhaps a reflection of the man himself. Described as intensely private, Hopper made solitude and introspection important themes in his painting. Cape Cod Afternoon is a perfect example: This deceptively simple view of a shed, barn, and house in South Truro, Massachusetts, acts powerfully on viewers’ emotions in conflicting ways.

At first, the bright sunshine, brilliant colors, and idyllic setting that depict a hot, clear, late afternoon on the Cape Cod coast evoke a feeling of tranquility and optimism. Yet, as pointed out by Armstrong, upon further inspection, the long afternoon shadows, crumbling shed, shuttered windows, and dry, brown landscape suggest something else. “Perhaps indicative of the period during which Hopper painted Cape Cod Afternoon, the austere and isolated house suggests a spare and lonely existence in a rugged and then-remote part of America.

"After working at the Whitney Museum of American Art, which is the repository of Hopper's work, I have a bias for Hopper,” says Armstrong. “I particularly enjoy Cape Cod Afternoon because it so persuasively embodies the late summer light we all recall longingly during these dark winter days."

Back | Top