In the manner of Edward Hopper
American, 1882–1967
Night Shift, 2026
Oil on canvas
102 × 153 cm
Never painted.
Commissioned for the collection, 2026.
PAB 2026.19.1
Moving, 16-second loop ·
We stand on the dark pavement and look in through the plate glass, where one woman waits at a row of washing machines under fluorescent tubes at three in the morning. The light from inside lies on the paving at our feet. Hopper painted *Nighthawks* from the same spot, outside the window, as if we were only passing. The machines are the only ones talking.
The brief
A woman alone in a 24-hour laundromat at three in the morning seen through the plate glass window from the empty street, fluorescent light spilling onto the pavement, rows of machines, a folded newspaper. 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.
