Bridle Path, 1939 by Edward Hopper

Bridle Path shows three riders on horseback approaching the West 72nd Street entrance to Central Park in New York City. A large building is seen above the hillside towering over the three riders - two women and a man. The riders are dressed in modern 1930s riding garb and appear to be galloping toward the dark tunnel. The man leans back and his horse's head rears up, slowing the gallop as they approach the tunnel.

Outwardly Hopper's life was extremely stable, free of any turmoil. Once he had found himself as an artist, his life was dominated by his career and rarely touched by the society around him. Nevertheless, from his distanced vantage point, Hopper remained an acute observer of his times and its art movements, a wealth of experience that is reflected in his works.

Hopper was born in 1882 in Nyack, a small port on the Hudson River several miles north of New York City. The East Coast left such a strong impression on him that he can be regarded as a prototype of this culture.