Narrator: This picture of a house was the very first painting in the museum’s collection. Painters often make pictures of people to capture how they look—they’re called portraits. Here, the artist, Edward Hopper, wanted his painting to be a portrait of the house.
How would you describe this house?
Kid: It looks like the only house around, it’s all alone.
Kid: It looks like it might be haunted!
Kid Most of the shades are pulled down. Maybe nobody’s home or the people who lived there moved away.
Narrator: A house with a big porch like this would be a great place to sit and take in the view. But what’s the view from the porch?
Kid: Railroad tracks. Why would somebody build a house so close to the tracks?
Narrator: Well, maybe the house came first. And sure, everything is quiet in the painting now… But what about when the trains go by?
SFX: Train horn