Edward Hopper and the American Hotel

Americans have long been obsessed with the thrill and vulnerability of pay-per-night lodging. Edward Hopper and the American Hotel is an exhibition that looks at the iconic midcentury artist’s fascination with places of transience, escape, and anonymity. Guests can explore the romantic and noir-ish side of hotels, motels, and tourist homes; learn about the ways 20th-century Americans participated in travel culture depending on their race, gender, and bank account; and see how Hopper’s works fit into a long tradition of using hotels to suggest emotions and ideas in art.

Edward Hopper and the American Hotel presents 100 works from 27 artists. The exhibition is organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, in partnership with the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. The organizing curator is Dr. Leo G. Mazow, Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Curator and head of the department of American Art, VMFA.