Theater and Cinema in Edward Hopper’s Paintings

1. Two on the Aisle

Edward Hopper‘s 1927 painting Two on the Aisle was his first major work featuring a scene set in a theater. The composition seems simple: three figures settle into their seats in the still-empty theater, removing coats and preparing for the performance. Typically for the “master of solitude,” Hopper chooses to focus on the quiet moment before the performance. We don’t see any action on the stage or a bustling crowd. It’s the details that invite us into the story. What are these people thinking? What is their story? We become the voyeurs, or perhaps another theater patron about to take a seat and enjoy the performance. The scene seems almost like a still from a movie.

2. The Sheridan Theater

Hopper was a great observer of modern American life. Yet again, in this painting, he deliberately chose to depict an empty movie theater instead of a crowded scene. A devoted moviegoer, Edward Hopper witnessed a thrilling era in cinema history: the introduction of electricity and sound, followed by the subsequent rise of Hollywood as a film industry. Dark halls of theaters were transformed into luxurious movie palaces. The Sheridan Theater, which seated 2,000 guests, was one very close to his house.

3. New York Movie

This is probably Edward Hopper’s most famous cinema scene. As with many of Hopper’s female subjects, this figure was inspired by his wife, Jo, who posed under a lamp in the hall of their apartment. Drawing from the numerous sketches of his favorite movie houses, such as the Palace, Republic, Globe, and Strand, Hopper designed every tiny detail of this interior to faithfully reflect the real venues, including the pattern of the carpet. The star of this scene, however, is the usherette lost in her own thoughts. Edward Hopper had a rare gift for capturing the theater in all its quiet allure—captivating, glamorous, and hauntingly empty.

4. First Row Orchestra

Here we encounter a scene very much like Two on the Aisle: people await the start of a concert, while an elegant lady seems closed off from the outside world. The vast curtain and stage dominate most of the canvas, stretching across it with a weighty presence. As in many of Hopper’s works, we glimpse the scene only from the corner of our eye.

5. Intermission

Intermission is one of Hopper’s largest works. Once again, Hopper came up with the idea for it while watching a movie. Josephine Hopper, who also modeled for this piece, arranged for him to work in an empty theater. Unlike the previous painting, here the composition includes only the edge of the stage. At its center sits a solitary woman in the first row of a side aisle. She anticipates the return of others from intermission, her mind elsewhere as she looks into the distance. A surviving preparatory sketch indicates that Hopper had briefly considered including another figure in the third row.

6. Two Comedians

At 83, Hopper created Two Comedians, a deeply personal work that can be considered as a farewell. According to Jo Hopper, the painting reflected the two of them gracefully bowing out. Both were in their eighties and fighting illness. Edward Hopper would pass away less than two years later, with Jo following the next year. They are depicted as actors on the stage, evoking Pierrette and Pierrot—the young lovers from the commedia dell’arte. The two pale figures are set against the black void of the stage background, as if at life’s close, Hopper seemed to want Jo at his side.