Famous Night Paintings

Moonlight, lamplight and dusk: the quiet hours, painted.

42 paintings, with works by John Frederick Kensett, Dwight William Tryon, Joseph Mallord William Turner and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Most often they suit the bedroom, living room and guest room.

42 paintings

Twilight in the Wilderness, Frederic Edwin Church, 1860, oil on canvas

Frederic Edwin Church Twilight in the Wilderness, 1860 Cleveland Museum of Art

We hover over a flax-yellow body of water lined with ships to our left and right, which are silhouetted against a moonlit, cloud-veiled sky in this horizontal landscape painting.

Joseph Mallord William Turner Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight, 1835 National Gallery of Art

A sparsely painted waterside scene in dark tones with minimal ghostly shapes suggesting ships, yellow glitches of paint for light reflections, and the orb of an orange moon overhead.

James McNeill Whistler Nocturne: Blue and Gold—Southampton Water, 1872 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting, heavy in tones of blue-green and burnt orange, depicting a bar scene at night. The men wear top hats and many are bearded; the women are dressed in voluminous gowns and decorative hats.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec At the Moulin Rouge, 1892–95 Art Institute of Chicago

Two Men Contemplating the Moon, Caspar David Friedrich, ca. 1825–30, oil on canvas

Caspar David Friedrich Two Men Contemplating the Moon, ca. 1825–30 The Met

Loosely painted scene of a brown-haired girl in her nightgown standing in a dark room, gazing out a window into a brighter night, her face unseen and her hand drawing back the pale curtain.

Edvard Munch The Girl by the Window, 1893 Art Institute of Chicago

Opulently dressed light-skinned man and woman drink at a small table. A mirror behind them reflects a crowd. Her blue dress and dark hat dominate.

William Glackens At Mouquin's, 1905 Art Institute of Chicago

Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus Declaiming, Joseph Wright of Derby, 1779, oil on canvas

Joseph Wright of Derby Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus Declaiming, 1779 The Met

The Forest in Winter at Sunset, Théodore Rousseau, ca. 1846–67, oil on canvas

Théodore Rousseau The Forest in Winter at Sunset, ca. 1846–67 The Met

Nocturne, John La Farge, ca. 1885, watercolor, gouache, and charcoal on off-white wove paper adhered to wove paper

John La Farge Nocturne, ca. 1885 The Met

A scene in brown and green tones of people dancing indoors. In the foreground, three women stand near boothed tables while a man sits.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Moulin de la Galette, 1889 Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait after a Costume Ball (Portrait of Madame Dietz-Monnin), Edgar Degas, 1879, distemper, metallic paint, and pastel, on canvas

Edgar Degas Portrait after a Costume Ball (Portrait of Madame Dietz-Monnin), 1879 Art Institute of Chicago

Café Singer, Edgar Degas, 1879, oil on canvas

Edgar Degas Café Singer, 1879 Art Institute of Chicago

Mount Vesuvius at Midnight, Albert Bierstadt, 1868, oil on canvas

Albert Bierstadt Mount Vesuvius at Midnight, 1868 Cleveland Museum of Art

Moonlight, Wood Island Light, Winslow Homer, 1894, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Moonlight, Wood Island Light, 1894 The Met

Searchlight on Harbor Entrance, Santiago de Cuba, Winslow Homer, 1902, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Searchlight on Harbor Entrance, Santiago de Cuba, 1902 The Met

An arched bridge faintly materializes in a haze of soft turquoise blue and mint green in this horizontal landscape painting. The bridge has four arches under a flat deck, and it extends off each side of the canvas.

Claude Monet Waterloo Bridge, London, at Dusk, 1904 National Gallery of Art

Moon, Pine and Maple, Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1764–81, hanging scroll, ink, colors and gold on silk

Katsushika Hokusai Moon, Pine and Maple, c. 1764–81 Art Institute of Chicago

A butter-yellow sky fills the top two-thirds of this square landscape painting while in the bottom third, a brown structure is surrounded by golden yellow and pine-green forms like clouds.

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Evening of the Deluge, c. 1843 National Gallery of Art

Evening at Medfield, Massachusetts, George Inness, 1875, oil on canvas

George Inness Evening at Medfield, Massachusetts, 1875 The Met

Sunset on the Sea, John Frederick Kensett, 1872, oil on canvas

John Frederick Kensett Sunset on the Sea, 1872 The Met

Twilight in the Cedars at Darien, Connecticut, John Frederick Kensett, 1872, oil on canvas

John Frederick Kensett Twilight in the Cedars at Darien, Connecticut, 1872 The Met

Twilight on the Sound, Darien, Connecticut, John Frederick Kensett, 1872, oil on canvas

John Frederick Kensett Twilight on the Sound, Darien, Connecticut, 1872 The Met

Evening, New Bedford Harbor, Dwight William Tryon, 1890, oil on wood

Dwight William Tryon Evening, New Bedford Harbor, 1890 The Met

Moonlight, Dwight William Tryon, 1887, oil on wood

Dwight William Tryon Moonlight, 1887 The Met

Moonrise at Sunset, Dwight William Tryon, 1890, oil on wood

Dwight William Tryon Moonrise at Sunset, 1890 The Met

The Hamlet of Optevoz, Charles-François Daubigny, ca. 1852, oil on canvas

Charles-François Daubigny The Hamlet of Optevoz, ca. 1852 The Met

Sunset near Arbonne, Théodore Rousseau, ca. 1860–65, oil on wood

Théodore Rousseau Sunset near Arbonne, ca. 1860–65 The Met

Moonlight, Strandgade 30, Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1900–1906, oil on canvas

Vilhelm Hammershøi Moonlight, Strandgade 30, 1900–1906 The Met

Far below us, a river winds through a valley lined with hazy mountains in this horizontal landscape painting.

Thomas Moran The Juniata, Evening, 1864 National Gallery of Art

The painting displays a dark green field stretching into the distance. A line of trees and small, indistinct structures can be seen near the center of the painting.

George Inness Harvest Moon, 1891 National Gallery of Art

Near the center of the painting, a masted wooden ship floats against a vibrant sunset that fades from lilac purple to carnation pink along the horizon line, which comes about a quarter of the way up this horizontal landscape.

Fitz Henry Lane Lumber Schooners at Evening on Penobscot Bay, 1863 National Gallery of Art

Lachrymae, Frederic Leighton, 1894–95, oil on canvas

Frederic Leighton Lachrymae, 1894–95 The Met

Two men wearing brief-like shorts, shoes, and boxing gloves curl toward each other as they grapple in the middle of a boxing ring in this horizontal painting. We look at the ring from across the heads of the crowd below and around us.

George Bellows Club Night, 1907 National Gallery of Art

Nocturnal landscape painting with lush trees and a large patch of sky with visible brushstrokes. Multiple small, seated figures line the foreground.

Narcisse Virgilio Díaz de la Peña Landscape with Figures, c. 1870 Art Institute of Chicago

Evening in the Woods, Worthington Whittredge, 1876, oil on canvas

Worthington Whittredge Evening in the Woods, 1876 The Met

Evening: Landscape with an Aqueduct, Théodore Géricault, 1818, oil on canvas

Théodore Géricault Evening: Landscape with an Aqueduct, 1818 The Met

This painting shows a cluster of trees against a bright sky in shades of pale yellow and pale seafoam green. Closest to us, a green-gray path stretches horizontally next to tall teal and blue grasses.

Julian Alden Weir Moonlight, c. 1905 National Gallery of Art

Shown from the knees up, a seated woman is surrounded by an arch of disembodied, winged baby heads as she gazes down at an infant lying across her lap in this vertical painting.

Jacopo Tintoretto The Madonna of the Stars, c. 1575/1585 National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a slightly elevated viewpoint looking out across a green landscape towards a reflective body of water. In the green sky, the pale-yellow moon glows brightly, illuminating the scene.

Ralph Albert Blakelock Moonlight, 1886/1895 National Gallery of Art

A nearly square landscape with a bridge to our right and a person walking at the lower center is painted loosely in tones of pine, spruce, and sage green with a few touches of yellow, black, and brown.

Ernest Lawson High Bridge at Night, New York City, c. 1910/1920 National Gallery of Art

We look down at and across a sun-soaked landscape with tile-roofed, white-stucco buildings and plowed fields in this horizontal painting.

Willard Leroy Metcalf Midsummer Twilight, c. 1890 National Gallery of Art

Rooms these paintings suit

Styles