Night Shadows
1921

From 1915 to 1923, Edward Hopper concentrated on printmaking, producing etchings and drypoints while also supporting himself as a commercial artist and illustrator. Although Hopper was still relatively unknown as a painter during this period, his prints began to earn him recognition. In this nocturnal scene, Night Shadows, he uses linear strokes of etched line to portray a patch of raking light on an otherwise dark, nearly empty street. With its unusual vantage point suggesting a view out of an upper-story window, the composition emphasizes the vulnerability of the lone passerby and assumes a voyeuristic, even ominous tone. Like many of Hopper’s works, Night Shadows presents modern life as pervaded by a sense of solitude and alienation.