Blackhead, Monhegan

Edward Hopper

Oil on wood

Whitney Museum of American Art

This intimate oil-on-wood panel captures the raw, elemental drama of Blackhead, one of Monhegan Island's most distinctive basaltic headlands off the coast of Maine, where crashing waves meet ancient rock in a scene of rugged, timeless beauty. Painted en plein air during Hopper's four summers on the island (1916–1919), the small panel was carried across the island's wild terrain, rendered with thick, loose brushstrokes that give the composition a sculptural energy and vibrant immediacy. Edward Hopper (1882–1967), one of America's greatest Realist painters, is celebrated for his mastery of light, solitude, and mood — and the Monhegan series represents some of his most colorfully alive and freely executed work, a striking counterpoint to his iconic urban scenes. Now held in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art as part of the monumental bequest from his wife Josephine, this piece offers a rare window into Hopper's early, exuberant engagement with the American landscape — a compelling and atmospheric work that would bring quiet coastal grandeur to any home.