A closer look at Edward Hopper’s “Automat” and “Chop Suey”

Edward Hopper displayed a preference for quieter social commentary with his art. In “Automat,” he paints a woman alone in an empty automat, conveying a sense of loneliness and isolation. In “Chop Suey,” two women are depicted at lunch without male chaperones, reflecting the newfound independence many women were experiencing at the time.

“If you look at his pictures, the values of contemporary society are reflected in them,” said Carol Troyen, Curator Emeritus at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.