# Blue hour

The short interval after sunset, when the light goes cool and the outlines soften, drew painters and printmakers back again and again. These works hold that hour: moonlit harbours, evening streets and nocturnes in which blue does most of the work.

- [Nocturne](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/nocturne-met-11380), John La Farge, ca. 1885. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [Lane Scene at Night](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/lane-scene-at-night-aic-273331), John Atkinson Grimshaw, 1872. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter Night](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/church-bells-ringing-rainy-winter-night-cma-127227), Charles Burchfield, December 1917. Courtesy of Cleveland Museum of Art.
- [The Houses of Parliament, Sunset](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-houses-of-parliament-sunset-nga-46523), Claude Monet, 1903. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- [Burning Oil Well at Night, near Rouseville, Pennsylvania](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/burning-oil-well-at-night-near-rouseville-pennsylvania-si-saam-1977-50), James Hamilton, ca. 1861. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.
- [Two Men Contemplating the Moon](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/two-men-contemplating-the-moon-met-438417), Caspar David Friedrich, ca. 1825–30. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [The Girl by the Window](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-girl-by-the-window-aic-154235), Edvard Munch, 1893. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [The Witch (Night Piece)](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-witch-night-piece-cma-123405), Jan van de Velde II, 1626. Courtesy of Cleveland Museum of Art.
- [Bay of New York, Sunset](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/bay-of-new-york-sunset-nga-54127), Thomas Chambers, mid 19th century. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- [Life Saving Patrol](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/life-saving-patrol-si-saam-1925-12-3), Edward Moran, ca. 1893. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.
- [Aeneas Rescuing Anchises from Burning Troy](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/aeneas-rescuing-anchises-from-burning-troy-aic-88619), Hendrick van Steenwijck, the Younger, c. 1610. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [Moonlight](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/moonlight-nga-214332), Claude-Joseph Vernet, 1772. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington.