In Western Motel, Hopper captures the human condition and the contrast between the idea of the wild and domesticity. The painting depicts a woman sitting on a bed in a hotel room and facing the viewer. Next to her is a large, picturesque window that resembles windows found in suburban houses. It shows the vast landscape of the West. This painting is a response to Albert Bierstadt’s 19th-century paintings of majestic and open American landscapes. To contrast that idea, Hopper intentionally puts the landscape through a window to show that the once “Wild West” has been domesticized. It also alludes to the nature of modern travel, in which travelers most commonly experience spaces such as cars, train stations, bridges, streets, and hotels instead of an open, vibrant city or landscape.

SKU: 44639
Creator: Edward Hopper
Date: 1957
Original Medium: Oil on canvas
Original Size: 30 5/8 x 50 1/2 in.
Location: Yale University Art Gallery