Nighthawks is a painting created by the American artist Edward Hopper in 1942. It depicts a diner in New York City, with three customers and a waiter sitting inside a brightly lit interior. The scene is illuminated by the diner's fluorescent lights, with the street outside dark and empty. The painting is celebrated for its sense of isolation and loneliness, with the characters seeming disconnected from each other and the world around them. Nighthawks is considered a quintessential work of American art, capturing the mood of post-World War II America and the sense of alienation that many people felt during that time. Its influence on American culture is evident in the countless references to the painting in literature, film, and music, and it continues to be celebrated as one of the most iconic works of 20th-century art.