Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1994
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Edward Hopper
(American, 1882–1967)
East Side Interior
1922
Etching on off-white wove paper
Plate: 7 3/4 x 9 13/16 in. (19.7 x 24.9 cm)
Sheet: 13 x 16 in. (33.0 x 40.6 cm)
Mat: 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
Sheet: 13 x 16 in. (33.0 x 40.6 cm)
Mat: 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1994.22
Copyright© Heirs of Josephine Hopper/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
SignedIn graphite, lower left margin: East Side Interior/Edward Hopper/3 Washington Square/New York [signature and inscription look reinforced]
InterpretationThe etching East Side Interior is Edward Hopper's glimpse of the interior of a modest dwelling in New York City's Lower East Side in which a woman, dressed only in a slip whose strap has slipped off her right shoulder, interrupts her task at a sewing machine to glance out the window. Partly visible outside are the Ionic column and stair railing forming the front stoop of her home. The daylight illuminating the dark room picks out details of its crowded contents: a chair back, a baby carriage, a framed picture, and a lighting fixture hanging from the ceiling. Hopper's print subtly hints at financial duress, family demands, and a city-dweller's longing for escape to the fresh air and light beyond the confines of responsibility.
In its subject of a woman turned towards an illuminated window on the right, East Side Interior echoes another etching, Evening Wind (TF 1994.20), which Hopper made a year earlier. Both are reminiscent of treatments of the theme of the woman before a window in seventeenth-century Dutch art. East Side Interior is regarded as one of Hopper's best prints and a masterpiece of American realist art. Its qualities were recognized shortly after it was made. In 1923, the print was awarded a prize at both the Chicago Society of Etchers exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the fourth International Printmakers Exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art (now the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Like Les Deux Pigeons (TF 1996.47), this impression bears the address of Hopper's New York City home on Washington Square, where he lived from 1913 until his death.
In its subject of a woman turned towards an illuminated window on the right, East Side Interior echoes another etching, Evening Wind (TF 1994.20), which Hopper made a year earlier. Both are reminiscent of treatments of the theme of the woman before a window in seventeenth-century Dutch art. East Side Interior is regarded as one of Hopper's best prints and a masterpiece of American realist art. Its qualities were recognized shortly after it was made. In 1923, the print was awarded a prize at both the Chicago Society of Etchers exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the fourth International Printmakers Exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art (now the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Like Les Deux Pigeons (TF 1996.47), this impression bears the address of Hopper's New York City home on Washington Square, where he lived from 1913 until his death.
Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1994
Exhibition History
Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1996–January 12, 1997.
On Process: The American Print, Technique Examined, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 13–March 2, 2001.
Edward Hopper, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain and Galeries Nationales, Grand Palais, Paris, France (organizers). Venues: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain, June 12–September 16, 2012; Galeries nationales, Grand Palais, Paris, France, October 5, 2012–January 28, 2013 (Madrid venue only).
Terra Collection-in-Residence, Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology, Oxford, United Kingdom, September 15, 2022–September 30, 2026.
On Process: The American Print, Technique Examined, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 13–March 2, 2001.
Edward Hopper, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain and Galeries Nationales, Grand Palais, Paris, France (organizers). Venues: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain, June 12–September 16, 2012; Galeries nationales, Grand Palais, Paris, France, October 5, 2012–January 28, 2013 (Madrid venue only).
Terra Collection-in-Residence, Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology, Oxford, United Kingdom, September 15, 2022–September 30, 2026.
Reese, Alfred. American Prize Prints of the 20th Century. New York: American Artists Group, Inc., 1949. Text and ill. p. 90.
Zigrosser, Carl. "The Etchings of Edward Hopper." In Prints: Thirteen Illustrated Essays on the Art of the Print Selected for the Print Council of America, edited by Carl Zigrosser. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962. No. 8, pp. 155–73.
Levin, Gail. Edward Hopper: The Complete Prints. (exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art). New York and London, England: W. W. Norton & Company in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1979. Text pp. 7, 20; fig. 16, pl. 85 (etching), 86 (preparatory drawing).
Levin, Gail. Edward Hopper: The Art and the Artist. (exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art). New York and London, England: W. W. Norton & Company in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1980. Text p. 35; fig. 39.
Carey, Frances and Antony Griffiths. American Prints 1879–1979, Catalogue of an Exhibition at the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum. (exh. cat., British Museum). London, England: Trustees of the British Museum, 1980. No. 63, p. 33.
Jacobowitz, Ellen S. and George H. Marcus. American Graphics 1860–1940, Selected from the Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1982. No. 54, p. 57.
Master Prints of Five Centuries: The Alan and Marianne Schwartz Collection. (exh. cat., The Detroit Institute of Arts). Detroit, Michigan: Founders Society, The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1990. Cat. no. 47, p. 75.
Levin, Gail. Edward Hopper: A Catalog Raisonné. 4 vols. New York: W. W. Norton & Company in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1995. Vol. 1: text pp. 5, 82; fig. 9, p. 5.
Zigrosser, Carl. "The Etchings of Edward Hopper." In Prints: Thirteen Illustrated Essays on the Art of the Print Selected for the Print Council of America, edited by Carl Zigrosser. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962. No. 8, pp. 155–73.
Levin, Gail. Edward Hopper: The Complete Prints. (exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art). New York and London, England: W. W. Norton & Company in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1979. Text pp. 7, 20; fig. 16, pl. 85 (etching), 86 (preparatory drawing).
Levin, Gail. Edward Hopper: The Art and the Artist. (exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art). New York and London, England: W. W. Norton & Company in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1980. Text p. 35; fig. 39.
Carey, Frances and Antony Griffiths. American Prints 1879–1979, Catalogue of an Exhibition at the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum. (exh. cat., British Museum). London, England: Trustees of the British Museum, 1980. No. 63, p. 33.
Jacobowitz, Ellen S. and George H. Marcus. American Graphics 1860–1940, Selected from the Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1982. No. 54, p. 57.
Master Prints of Five Centuries: The Alan and Marianne Schwartz Collection. (exh. cat., The Detroit Institute of Arts). Detroit, Michigan: Founders Society, The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1990. Cat. no. 47, p. 75.
Levin, Gail. Edward Hopper: A Catalog Raisonné. 4 vols. New York: W. W. Norton & Company in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1995. Vol. 1: text pp. 5, 82; fig. 9, p. 5.