The Lighthouse at Two Lights

Edward Hopper

1929 · Oil on canvas · Modern and Contemporary Art

In this work, Hopper isolates the dramatic silhouette of a lighthouse against an open expanse of blue sky. Set on a rocky promontory in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, the architecture is bathed in bright sunlight offset by dark shadows. Standing proudly upright and seen from below, the lighthouse at Two Lights seems to symbolize a resolute resistance, even refusal, to submit to change or nature. For Hopper, who had been summering in Maine since 1914, the lighthouse also signified a pleasurable reprieve from life in New York.

Artist

Edward Hopper

Date

1929

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Hugo Kastor Fund, 1962