Office in a Small City is a 1953 oil painting by the American realist painter Edward Hopper. It is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York.
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Description
The painting depicts a man sitting in a corner office surveying the cityscape outdoors. The painting depicts loneliness and beauty in a uniquely stark yet pleasing fashion, a common theme amongst Hopper's works. It was described by Hopper's wife, Josephine, as "the man in concrete wall."
Analysis
Hopper commonly created compositions that have a voyeuristic perspective, depicted here from peering through the office window's at the working man inside.
New York City, the artist's home, was becoming a place for new immigrants to obtain jobs and the American Dream. During his lifetime, the city underwent tremendous development, both in terms of buildings and population. However, Hopper's depictions of New York remained small and largely unpopulated.