Paintings can excellently encapsulate a singular emotion and evoke that emotion in viewers who gaze at the painting itself. Even years after the brush strokes have dried, people can see reflections of themselves in the scene depicted in Edward Hopper’s Office in a Small City. Painted in 1953, it is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. I argue that this painting represents loneliness, isolation, and serenity, as well as Edward Hopper’s attitude towards the traditional nine to five jobs that are so quintessentially American. 

The most dominant aspects of the painting at first glance are large white walls of the office building. These walls draw your eye. They dominate and frame the entire painting. They fill the entire canvas with an undeniable lightness. The wall is at the very front of the canvas, and covers not only much of the interior of the office itself, but also the skyline behind the building.  Central to the immediate wall of the office building is the large window. This window is absolutely transparent, and in fact could just be a hole in the wall. The painting gives no indication that a pane of glass is even present. This was a careful, purposeful decision. It gives a clear, uninterrupted look into the office, at the man sitting inside. Although no door or other exit is visible, the lack of visible windows prevents the office from feeling at all claustrophobic or private. The man is not free to leave, but he can look around and be seen by everyone. 

The inside of this man’s office is absolutely barren and featureless. There are no fixtures on the wall, the desk has some objects on it, but nothing substantial or unambiguous. Looking at the interior of this office, it is impossible to tell what specifically this man is doing in there. He could be doing anything. His clothing is similarly ambiguous. He is wearing a white button down, and a brown vest. That is fairly ordinary clothing for the 1950s, when this piece of art was painted. It isn’t specific to any industry or profession. This is the white collar everyman. Also significant is this man’s body language and posture. He has one hand on the edge of the desk, and one by his side. He isn’t gripping a book or pencil. The man is leaning back in his chair, not hunching over his desk. Altogether he strikes a very casual, unproductive pose. He stares straight ahead, looking out the window directly in front of him. Although stuck inside the office, the man does not appear to be working at this point. He is calmly, perhaps solemnly surveying the city stretching out below him.

Hopper made a conscious effort to accurately portray the sun as low in the sky in this picture. Although the sun itself is not visible, it casts long shadows into the office. Along with the relaxing worker, I believe the sun is setting, the work day ending. The imminent escape from the office is why the man in the office is looking out the window so intently, anticipating his exit. This is a very negative portrayal of the wonders of office work. From this picture alone, it seems evident that Hopper has some sort of disdain for this type of work.

The man is alone, not just in the office, but the painting itself. This is significant. He is further above everyone else, which communicates power, but also isolation. Like the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, the man is high in his castle above all the other villagers, but at the same time feeling immensely alone. It isn’t an uncommon theme, and it is present here. The framing of the window only enhances this phenomenon, literally boxing the man off from the background with a thick border of white. 

Looking at the background of the painting, it is more colorful and busy than the office. We see what appears to be an apartment building across the street. Another stark white building, with no windows is even further in the background. The sky also takes up much of the background, as a pleasant, ordinary shade of blue. The general normalcy of the outside world makes it seem all the more baffling that this man is even bothering to stare at it. Additionally, in stark contrast to the vast, clear windows of the office, the smaller windows of the apartment building are drawn off, opaque, possibly obscured by curtains. It makes the man in the office building feel exposed, vulnerable, under observation from the entire city. 

While the man is cut off from everyone, there is also an undeniable sense of serenity. The decision to set the painting at dusk contributes to this feeling, with the painting being bathed in a slight warm shade by the setting sun. Furthermore, Hopper made sure that even the white walls were not a pure, unyielding white, instead varying slightly in tone and composition while still contrasting tightly with both the other foreground elements and the background. Perhaps the stability and physical ease of holding down an office job contributes to this small concession that Hopper made in his unflattering depiction of white collar work.

Overall, this painting puts white collar jobs under a rather unflattering magnifying glass. Hopper zeroes in on the isolation, sense of superiority, and overwhelming responsibility that office jobs can have, especially in the largely blue collar 1950s. I argue that this painting represents loneliness, isolation, and serenity, as well as Edward Hopper’s attitude towards the traditional nine to five jobs that are so quintessentially American. Making a living as an artist, Hopper clearly had a preference for unorthodox ways to make a living, which is reflected in his 1953 piece, “Office in a Small City”.
