Nighthawks Quiz: Edward Hopper's Late-Night Diner Painting

This Nighthawks quiz looks through the big glass window of Edward Hopper's most famous painting. Play 10 interactive questions on the four figures at the counter, the missing door, the fluorescent glow, the Phillies cigar sign, Greenwich Village inspiration, Hopper's wife Jo as model, the year 1942, its quick sale to the Art Institute of Chicago and endless parodies.

Start Nighthawks Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Artist
Who painted Nighthawks?
Year
When was Nighthawks painted?
Scene
What does the painting show?
People
How many people are in the diner?
Door
What is missing from the diner?
Sign
Which advertising sign sits on the roof?
Place
Which New York area inspired it?
Model
Who posed for the woman in red?
Museum
Which museum bought it soon after it was painted?
Mood
Which feeling is the painting often linked to?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Who painted Nighthawks?
Answer: Edward Hopper
He was an American realist.
Q2: When was Nighthawks painted?
Answer: 1942
It was just after Pearl Harbor.
Q3: What does the painting show?
Answer: A late-night diner
Light spills onto the street.
Q4: How many people are in the diner?
Answer: Four
Three customers and a server.
Q5: What is missing from the diner?
Answer: A visible door
Viewers cannot see a way in.
Q6: Which advertising sign sits on the roof?
Answer: Phillies cigars
It shows a price.
Q7: Which New York area inspired it?
Answer: Greenwich Village
Hopper lived nearby.
Q8: Who posed for the woman in red?
Answer: Hopper's wife Jo
Jo also named the painting.
Q9: Which museum bought it soon after it was painted?
Answer: Art Institute of Chicago
It paid 3,000 dollars.
Q10: Which feeling is the painting often linked to?
Answer: Urban loneliness
No one seems to talk.

Light in an Empty City

Nighthawks, painted by Edward Hopper in 1942, shows a late-night diner on a dark street corner. Through its curved glass window, fluorescent light falls on three customers and a server in a white uniform. The painting was finished soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

There is no visible door, so viewers cannot see a way in. A Phillies cigar sign sits on the roof. Hopper said a restaurant on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich Village suggested the scene. His wife, Jo, posed for the woman in red and suggested the title.

The Art Institute of Chicago bought the painting within months for 3,000 dollars, and it remains there. Its sense of urban loneliness has inspired films, books and countless parodies placing celebrities or cartoon characters at the counter.

What This Quiz Teaches

Art fans will enjoy these questions.

Who painted it
What it shows
Which details stand out
Who inspired the figures
Where it hangs

Did You Know?

Hopper painted empty streets often.
Film noir shares its mood.
The man's back faces viewers.
Coffee urns gleam on the counter.
Hopper rarely explained his work.