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Blackwell's Island

Edward Hopper1928

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville, United States

Edward Hopper's painting of Blackwell’s Island (today called Roosevelt Island) is one of several of his works featuring New York's East River. The island's varied architecture and seclusion appealed to Hopper. He carefully composed the painting in preliminary sketches, omitting and inserting elements to emphasize a sense of isolation. Blackwell's Island suggests a vast distance between the viewer and the subject, creating a feeling of unease and curiosity.

Hopper is one of the key figures of twentieth-century realism. His paintings capture the character of mid-century American alienation, exuding loneliness and melancholy. As in his well-known scenes of bars, hotels, stations, and trains, this work presents a sparse setting with dramatic contrasts of light and shade that emphasize the solitude and drama of modern urban existence.

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  • Title: Blackwell's Island
  • Creator: Edward Hopper
  • Date Created: 1928
  • Physical Dimensions: 34 1/2 x 59 1/2 in. (87.6 x 151.1 cm)
  • Provenance: (Frank K.M. Rhen Galleries, New York, NY); to William G. Russell Allen, Boston, MA, 1929; to Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Tunnard [1910-1979], New Haven, CT, 1950; Private Collection, 1980; (Sotheby’s, New York, NY), private sale, ca. 2000; to Robert and Soledad Hurst, Aspen, CO; to (Christie’s, New York, NY), May 23, 2013, sale 2707, lot 16; purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2013
  • Rights: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas.
  • External Link: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

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