The artwork titled “Burly Cobb’s House, South Truro” was created by Edward Hopper between 1930 and 1933. This painting is executed in oil on canvas and falls within the Social Realism art movement. The piece measures 91.44 by 62.87 cm and is categorized as a landscape genre.
The artwork presents a stark, rural landscape dominated by the large, geometric form of a house which stands in the center. The structure is rendered with Hopper’s characteristic precision, with distinct contrasts between the dark, shadowed areas and the sunlit facets. The house’s siding, with its peeling paint, reflects the effects of weathering and time, providing a sense of realism and decay. The earth around the building is largely barren, painted in broad swaths of ochre and muted green, while the backdrop is composed of a softly rolling hill that meets a flat, unembellished sky.
In the foreground, sparse vegetation and wild grasses are visible, painted with quick, gestural brushstrokes that imbue the scene with some textural variety. To the right, a dense cluster of trees stands in deep shadow, giving an impression of volume and contrasting with the otherwise flat landscape. The palette is subdued, with a restricted range of colors, contributing to the overall sense of solitude and desolation typical of Hopper’s depictions of American life. Overall, the compositional simplicity and the emotional weight of the image are characteristic of Hopper’s exploration of the theme of isolation within the American landscape.
