“Edward Hopper’s haunting realist canvas evokes an enigmatic emptiness that has become the artist’s trademark,” states the caption accompanying this 1924 painting on the website of the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia.
“His sparsely populated New York cityscapes, bleak New England views, and lonely interiors share the same stark simplicity.”
“In New York Pavements Hopper used bold cropping, an elevated point of view, strong diagonal lines, and a simple, bleached palette to achieve an odd and detached effect.”
“From a bird’s-eye perspective, the only hint of narrative is the figure emerging from the lower left.”
It’s such an ordinary city scene yet so disquieting. Who is the nun with the baby carriage, and what neighborhood is this?
Tags: " New York street scenes, Chrysler Museum Virginia, Edward Hopper, Edward Hopper New York City, New York in the 1920s, New York paintings, New York Pavements Hopper, New York tenement
Ephemeral New York 
October 25, 2012 at 11:58 am |
[…] The “enigmatic emptiness” of a city sidewalk (ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com) […]
October 25, 2012 at 12:04 pm |
Looks like 74th Street between Park and Madison–maybe No. 47.
October 25, 2012 at 12:54 pm |
The “nun” could be a Sister of Charity wheeling one of their wards from the NY Foundling Hospital, but more likely that is how nannies dressed in that period.
October 25, 2012 at 1:03 pm |
Great observation S.S. Imagine if all the nannies today had to wear head gear like that…..
October 25, 2012 at 6:05 pm |
If all the nannies today had to wear head gear like that, Tribeca would look like an oversized convent.
October 25, 2012 at 7:40 pm |
The painting is obviously still having its intended affect…causing dialogue and various opinions as to what one is looking at….brilliant
November 6, 2012 at 7:17 am |
It is too. Hopper’s paintings are excellent.
July 22, 2013 at 4:33 am |
[…] It reminds me of another Hopper painting, depicting another isolating piece of New York City. […]