In the manner of Edward Hopper
American, 1882–1967
Departures, 6 a.m., 2026
Oil on canvas
102 × 153 cm
Never painted.
Commissioned for the collection, 2026.
PAB 2026.19.4
A traveller in a dark suit stands at the window with his hands behind his back, looking out at a grounded plane with a red tail. Rows of empty seats throw long shadows across the polished floor. It is six in the morning and nobody else has come. Hopper's people stand at windows waiting for something he never paints. This one has a boarding pass. It does not seem to help.
The brief
An airport gate with rows of empty seats, one traveler standing at the window looking out at the tarmac, pale early light, a grounded plane. American realist oil painting of the 1940s, hard clear light casting long precise shadows, simplified architectural geometry with strong horizontals, a muted but saturated palette of ochre, brick red, viridian and pale cream, a single still figure isolated in a public space, psychological quiet, cinematic framing from slightly outside the scene, smooth restrained brushwork. Museum photograph of the oil painting, even gallery lighting, no frame, no text, no wall, no floor, cropped to the canvas edge.
Written to the house rules. The painter's name does not appear.
Take it home
The painting on this room's wall, at its own proportions, nothing written on it.
