![]() ![]() A partial underdrawing was found but little detail remains. Most alterations were made in the position of the young woman's head and in outlines of some areas in dark blue paint. Under X-ray it can be seen that Hopper did little to change the canvas once he began work. Throughout Hopper's sketches the clerk does not appear until the final painting. The red dress that the older woman wears (that Jo, in her journal, describes as "coral") signifies anger and extroversion, while the blue dress worn by the younger woman shows youth and distance. The coat the older woman wears is based on a fur coat owned by Hopper's wife, a coat she often wore to openings and a rare find in the Hopper's frugal household. After their marriage in 1920 she insisted on being the model for all of his female figures. The modeling for both women in the painting was done by his wife Josephine. These studies show the older couple communicating, only to cease their conversation in the final painting and reading man is replaced with a blonde young woman reading in the final painting. Until this sketch the other seated figure was a man. Study nine is a partial sketch of the younger woman who is reading, which shares the page with sketch eight, in greater detail.Study eight was created to further detail the older woman's clothing and hands, showing her with a gold glove.The couple also appears to be having a conversation. The ceiling, desk, revolving door, curtained doorway and elevator all have greater detail. Study seven shows the fourth figure reappearing by the couple.The figures and the elevator are in their final locations. Study six is missing the seated figure from the left with only three remaining and in more detail.The reception desk columns are more detailed, and the stripe on the floor is darkened. The reverse side shows the room with a more detailed revolving door and a return to a single, framed painting on the wall. One side appears to be an abandoned diagram of a room. The rear doorway has a curtain, columns are on the reception desk, the ceiling appears to be beamed, a second painting is on the wall and a stripe is added to the floor. The stairs are now removed with three people on the left: two seated figures next to a standing man. Study four is more refined and has greater detail.A figure believed to be male stands in the open doorway to the left of the stairs while a woman sits to the left of the doorway with an empty chair, a painting on the wall and a tiled floor. Study three depicts the stairwell being moved into the background.Study two lacks the table and lamp and includes a second painting, which is separated from the other by a wall sconce, and one figure.That wall features a curtained opening, a registration desk and a painting on the wall with the stairwell and railing on the left. Study one was believed to have been executed while Hopper in a hotel lobby observed two seated figures separated by a lamp and table.Nine of the ten studies are described as: ![]() Sketches īefore he created the Hotel Lobby Hopper drew ten studies of the work, which were later given to the Whitney Museum of American Art by the estate of his wife, Josephine. ![]() The elevated and theatrical vantage point of the painting may be derived from Hopper's love of Broadway theatre which he often watched from the balcony. The painting uses harsh light and rigid lines to create a "carefully constructed" uncomfortable environment. The hotel guests have been described as being "both traveling and suspended in time," reflecting a stoic and dramatic feeling, reminiscent of the film noir movies Hopper might have seen and the complex structure and feeling of works by Edgar Degas. The older couple are believed to represent Hopper and his wife, at that date in their 60s. This is one of two works in his catalog that depicts a hotel, the other being Hotel Window (1955). The Hoppers traveled frequently, staying in many motels and hotels throughout his career. Hotel Lobby is a signature piece in Hopper's work, displaying his classic themes of alienation and brevity. A clerk behind the reception desk is barely visible in the shadows. On the left wall, above the woman, is a framed landscape painting. A man stands next to her, facing forward, with a suit on and an overcoat draped over his right arm. To the left sits an older woman with a red dress, a coat and a hat. On the right is a woman with blond hair and a blue dress, sitting with her legs crossed and reading a book. ![]() The painting depicts two women and a man in the lobby of a hotel. Hotel Lobby is a 1943 oil painting on canvas by American realist painter Edward Hopper it is held in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. ![]()
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