Spurwink Church

Edward Hopper

Watercolor on paper

Whitney Museum of American Art

This luminous watercolor captures a historic 1802 church perched atop a blustery hillside in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, with wind-tossed trees and the blue Spurwink River visible in the distance. Edward Hopper, master of American Realism known for his iconic oil painting "Nighthawks," created this work en plein air during one of nine summers he spent painting in Maine between 1914 and 1929. The piece exemplifies Hopper's signature treatment of light and solitude, saturating the scene in warm, radiant sunlight that imbues it with emotional depth. This transitional work from his career shows the artist developing the distinctive compositional style and contemplative atmosphere that would define his most celebrated paintings.