Adam's House

Adam's House is a watercolor painting by Edward Hopper, painted in 1928.

The painting depicts an urban scene in the bright, seaside town of Gloucester, Massachusetts and was painted during some time spent in Gloucester on a summer painting trip, with his first painting from Gloucester being in 1912, Squam Light the first of his American outdoor paintings.

The centerpiece of the painting is the white house, presumably Adam's House. The scene as a whole is reasonably bright and cheery, with a lot of bright colors used, white being the most used color. The house has a beautiful tree in the garden, rich in texture thanks to Hopper's great skill in watercolor with clever uses of shading and shadows.

The telegraph pole slightly to the right of the center is in stark contrast to the white house. The top of the pole is very dark, almost black, something that Hopper was key to show, but made sure not to make the entire pole too dark as to avoid overpowering and taking over the painting and while the house appears beautifully crafted, the pole itself is bent to one side contrasting in both color and architecture.

The wires attached to the pole have been painted fainter than they would appear in real life as again he wanted to avoid anything too heavy taking over the painting, whilst also leaving the sky mostly visible, showing the white clouds that go hand in hand with the house.

There are no people or animals of any sort in this painting, focusing on only the meld of man made houses to nature, with the painting featuring plenty of vegetation showing a glimpse as to what this scene may have appeared if man were never to be and no town was ever built.

To conclude, Adam's House is a bright watercolor painting but shows clear contrast with the bent telegraph pole contrasting the rest of the painting, especially the white house. The attention to detail notably on the tree in the garden of the white house shows Hopper's skill as an artist and all in all is a beautifully crafted painting.