(Light at Two Lights)
1927

Lighthouses were one of Edward Hopper’s favored subjects. He first began sketching them as a student and later went on to paint a number of lighthouses in Maine, including the one pictured in this watercolor, the Cape Elizabeth Light, also known as Two Lights. In 1927, Hopper bought a car and summered in Cape Elizabeth, just south of Portland. While there, he made several compositions of the lighthouse using conté, oil, and watercolor. Working on location, he focused on depicting the structure’s stark forms as well as the changing climate conditions. Here, Hopper shows the lighthouse under a brilliant blue sky, the gingerbread trim of the keeper’s house adding a note of decorative whimsy to the otherwise unadorned building.