Type: Oil on canvas
Canvas Size: 71.4 x 91.4 cm
Location: Des Moines Art Center, Iowa
Purchased: with funds of the Edmundson Art Foundation Inc.
© Estate of Edward Hopper

The woman in Automat really intigues me. What is she thinking? Is she really that lonely.

Hopper completed Automat when he was 45 years old. He had been married 3 years.

Title obviously refers to automatic food but the picture is all about the woman. How lonely is she? There is nothing, absolutely nothing, outside but an abyss of never-ending darkness. The reflection of the lights outside seem timid against it. The viewer seems to sit across from her, watching her deep in thought and wondering what is going on in her world. But she is enclosed in this glasshouse, as lonely as 'lonely' gets.

Random Hopper Fact
His wife was born Josephine Verstille Nivison. They married in July 1924 and died within a year of each other (67/68).

What Else Happened to Hopper in 1930?
With sale of Two on the Aisle for 1,500 dollars buys first automobile, a two-year-old Dodge. He is able to paint in remote places in both Ogunquit and Gloucester.

Where Is The Painting Now?
Des Moines Art Center, Iowa.

Edward Hopper exhibition posters @ ebay.com (direct link to exhibition posters) - they do come onto the market from time to time and usually look out of this world - imagine one framed on your wall!

Buy Print.