The Lighthouse

This print likely represents the Eastern Point Lighthouse at Gloucester, Massachusetts, which Hopper painted in watercolor in 1923—the steep view from below here obscures much of the complex. The artist produced about 70 etchings between 1915 and 1923. After returning to New York from Europe in 1910, he explored this new medium when his paintings failed to find buyers. In addition to subjects inspired by rural New England, Hopper evoked memories of France, and showed men and women experiencing the distinct urban fabric of New York. After receiving two awards for his prints in 1923—the Logan Prize from the Chicago Society of Etchers and the W. A. Bryan Prize—Hopper refocused his energies on painting, but often returned to subjects he had used etching to shape.