Life in 1942.

In my previous post I highlighted that I wanted to find out more about America in 1942 to gain context on the Edward Hopper painting. 

1942 was a dramatic year for America, with lots of things changing due to entering the war in Europe after Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Rations of gas and food were introduced, as well as war bonds, which encouraged American citizens to buy bonds of money to raise more for the war effort.

Hopper already said (as I have mentioned in a previous post) that he felt he was trying to paint the loneliness of a big city, and this may be heavily influenced by the changes at the time. I also feel that looking at the painting shows the emptiness of the city, which may represent the many people that suddenly disappeared from the homeland to join the war effort abroad. Of course, the life at home changed as people were expected to help the war effort on the home front, with an emphasis put on farming and manufacturing weapons and vehicles. 

It seems to me that 1942 was a troubling, and exciting year for Americans at home, and this may have had an effect on the production of this painting. The idea of loneliness in a big place is interesting to me, and I could start exploring that core theme further in sound.