Edward Hopper: Drawings of New York and Cape Cod

9. Study for Excursion into Philosophy 1959 Charcoal on paper 8 3/8 x 10 15/16 in. (21.3 x 27.8 cm)

EXHIBITIONS: New York, Peter Findlay Gallery. Edward Hopper: The Capezzera Drawings . 2005. Excat, p. 28. LITERATURE: G. Levin. Edward Hopper: A Catalogue Raisonné . New York: Whitney Museum of Art, 1995. vol. III, p. 362, fig. 357.2. Our drawing is a study for the painting Excursion into Philosophy (Private collection) which presents a contemplative scene in an interior space, geometric patches of sun light covering the room. A man at the edge of the bed appears consumed by thought, while a woman sleeps behind him with her back turned to the viewer. In the fore ground, an open book rests on the bed, which according to Jo Hopper, is a book of writings by Plato (from which the painting’s title derives).