New Yorkers Step Into Life-Size Replicas of Iconic Edward Hopper Paintings

Happy birthday, Edward Hopper! Art lovers paid tribute to the American realist during a four-day celebration in New York City that ended on July 22—142 years after his birth in 1882.

Hopper’s talent for capturing moments of isolation in ordinary locations has always made viewers feel as if they could enter one of his scenes. As such, the highlight of the festivities was an installation called “Step Into Hopper,” which allowed visitors to explore life-size 3D replicas of the painter’s most famous works.

In Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, attendees explored a recreation of the diner from Nighthawks (1942), where they could even chat with a neighbor on a nearby stool and order a coffee from a barista. Performers were hired to bring the figures in Hopper’s works to life.

“[I’m] just interacting, but not in a too happy way,” actor Lucas Sefcik, who played the barista, tells WABC’s CeFaan Kim. “In the painting, everybody is just kind of somber and to themselves.”

Attendees could also check out a real-life version of the artist’s nightclub from Soir Bleu (1914) and hang out with the clown depicted in the painting. If they wanted a bit of fresh air, they could stroll down a replica of Early Sunday Morning (1930), Hopper’s homage to Seventh Avenue.

Organizers encouraged guests to pose for photos with the replicas. Scott Rothkopf, director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, tells the New York Times’ James Barron that this experience is quite different from “what can be done in Photoshop.”

“Anyone can put themselves in a painting,” he adds. “That’s different from doing it down the street from where the painting lives.”

The free event was a collaboration between the Whitney and the Meatpacking Business Improvement District (BID). In addition to the installation, the celebration included a 60-mile round-trip bike ride from the museum to Hopper’s birthplace of Nyack, New York.

Set designer Theresa Rivera was tasked with bringing the Hopper paintings to life—which was no small feat, as Jeffrey LeFrancois, the executive director of Meatpacking BID, tells the Times.

“Obviously, with Hopper, it’s a pretty significant ask to ask someone to copy,” he says. “Everything from the brush stroke to the color choices are things she had to take into consideration while making it life-size.”

For those wanting to see the original Hopper pieces, Soir Bleu and Early Sunday Morning are currently hanging at the Whitney Museum. Meanwhile, Nighthawks is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.

While nothing beats the originals, attendee Bob Petrie says the immersive outdoor show was a great way to enrich his appreciation for Hopper’s work.

“The colors are spot on,” Petrie tells WABC. “It was cool to step inside the painting for once. You know, we’re always on the outside looking in. And then, all of [a] sudden, we’re sitting at the bar.”

Julia Binswanger | READ MORE

Julia Binswanger is a freelance arts and culture reporter based in Chicago. Her work has been featured in WBEZ, Chicago magazine, Rebellious magazine and PC magazine.