Chop Suey 1929 By Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper’s Chop Suey is widely regarded as a landmark of American modern art. Scholars of modern American Art and 20th-century Realism frequently cite the painting for its emotional restraint and psychological ambiguity, qualities that define Hopper’s mature approach to depicting modern urban life.

When was Chop Suey created?

Painted in 1929, Chop Suey is a defining work of Edward Hopper’s paintings during the late 1920's. The painting depicts two women seated inside a Chinese restaurant in New York City, a modern urban setting central to Hopper’s exploration of contemporary life.

Art historians widely believe the scene was inspired by a second-floor Chinese restaurant near Columbus Circle, a location the Hopper household reportedly frequented. The sharply illuminated female face is commonly identified as Jo Hopper, the artist’s wife and primary model, who posed for numerous figures throughout his career.

Hopper deliberately suppresses architectural detail, reducing the interior to essential forms. This restraint redirects attention from literal description toward perception, memory, and fleeting psychological presence, an approach characteristic of his late-1920s oil paintings.

What is the Meaning of Chop Suey?

The meaning of Chop Suey centers on psychological detachment within a specific modern social setting: a New York café where physical proximity fails to produce emotional connection. Although the two women share a table, they remain inwardly isolated, with the central figure gazing outward rather than engaging her companion.

Hopper abandons narrative storytelling in favor of light, silence, and spatial tension, prompting viewers to interpret the emotional distance themselves. The indistinct couple in the background further reinforces this separation, suggesting parallel lives unfolding without interaction.

Some art historians interpret the two women as a doubled or mirrored figure, implied by their similar dress, posture, and scale. Whether read literally or symbolically, this visual ambiguity intensifies the painting’s focus on perception, identity, and emotional self-containment within a single moment.

Carefully chosen details such as the teapot, cigarette, signage, and filtered daylight all create a sensory environment that emphasizes presence over action. The mask-like makeup of the central woman heightens this effect, distancing her from naturalistic portraiture and reinforcing the sense of psychological removal at the heart of the scene.

What Is the Theme of Chop Suey?

Edward Hopper’s paintings are celebrated for combining visual realism with emotional restraint. Recurring themes of isolation, introspection, and urban alienation reflect social conditions of early 20th-century America and remain psychologically resonant today.

Hopper prioritizes inner psychological states over explicit storytelling. In Chop Suey, light, sound, and spatial separation replace narrative action, reinforcing themes of loneliness, self-awareness, and emotional distance within a shared public setting.

Each figure remains confined within their inner world, emphasizing Hopper’s recurring theme of human disconnection.

An alternative scholarly interpretation suggests the two women may represent a single figure shown twice, a visual doubling reinforced by mirrored posture and near-identical clothing. This reading deepens Hopper’s meditation on identity and self-perception.

Regardless of interpretation, Hopper’s emphasis on light, sound, texture, and taste shifts the painting away from strict realism, inviting viewers to project personal memories and emotional associations.

By suppressing photographic detail and leaving certain elements deliberately unresolved, Hopper creates a more psychologically realistic image requiring active interpretation from the viewer.

How Much is Chop Suey Worth?

In November 2018, Chop Suey sold for approximately $92 million, setting a record auction price for an Edward Hopper painting.

Originally promised to the Seattle Art Museum by collector Barney A. Ebsworth, the painting ultimately remained with his estate. It is now held in a private collection, and its current location has not been publicly disclosed.

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