Yesterday's Guardian newspaper included a cartoon based on Edward Hopper's Nighthawks (the link is here) and seeing it got me thinking that I have never explained my profile picture on this blog. It's based on another, far less well known, Hopper painting.
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| Girl at Sewing Machine, Edward Hopper, 1921 |
Hopper's paintings of solitary figures are often regarded as representing themes of loneliness and isolation, but as a sewist I always feel that this one looks like absolute bliss. The décor of the interior suggests a comfortable domestic environment rather than someone forced to sew to earn a meagre living, and the position of the treadle machine provides excellent light to work by. Clearly the girl is not expecting to be disturbed, as she is working in her undergarments - both cooler, and much easier for doing fittings of the item she is making. To my mind, all the ingredients for a pleasant afternoon's sewing are there (well, apart from a cup of tea!). The painting is in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid and one day, when I have fewer commitments which limit my travelling, I shall go and see it.
My treadle is in my workroom, but I do sometimes use my handcrank on a table in my sitting room, especially if I'm working on something fiddly which needs good light. So when I had the machine set up last autumn, I decided to don my Edwardian slip and create my own version of the image.
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| My version, 2022 |
Finally, the title of this post is taken from this poem by Mary Leader, which was also inspired by the girl absorbed in her sewing.
You're welcome! It doesn't seem to be well known, possibly because it is such an early work. It didn't appear in last year's film about Hopper, for example.
ReplyDeleteOh indeed, Hopper was conjuring focus and peace in that painting. Had never know it existed: thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe replica photo is nice: do love a good handcraft. Such a workhorse.
Very best,
Natalie, USA
Thank you Natalie, I'm glad to be able to make the painting a tiny bit better known.
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