Urban Realism and the American Scene

Sierra Madre at Monterrey, 1943
Object-Edward Hopper, Sierra Madre at Monterrey
Although Hopper is known for oil paintings that evoke the alienation of twentieth-century American life, he was also a consummate watercolorist. One of a group of works he made during his first trip to Mexico, Sierra Madre at Monterrey shows the mountain range as the artist observed it from his hotel room. Most of his Mexico watercolors feature views taken from a lower vantage point and focus on the interaction of architecture and the surrounding landscape —a common theme in Hopper’s work. Here, the buildings, depicted as a haphazard cluster of rooftops partially visible along the bottom, are dwarfed by the massive blue and green mountains. The work exemplifies Hopper’s mature watercolor approach, in which he built up colors in layers and selectively scraped away the medium to create highlights, as seen in the peaks at center left.
Learn more about this watercolor on the Terra Foundation website.
Sierra Madre at Monterrey, 1943
Urban Realism and the American Scene

Bal Bullier, c. 1895

The Grand Canal, Venice, c. 1898–99

Theater Scene, 1903

Salem Willows, 1904

Knitting for the Soldiers: High Bridge Park, c. 1918

Sylvester, 1914

Cranberrying, Monhegan, c. 1907

The Palisades, 1909

Figure in Motion, 1913

Slaves, 1925

Builders of the Desert, 1923

Chicago, 1930

Pip and Flip, 1932

Between Acts, 1935

Bucks County Barn, 1940

After Church, 1941

Dawn in Pennsylvania, 1942

Bar-b-que, 1942

Clown with Drum, 1942

Sierra Madre at Monterrey, 1943