Beginning with Edward Hopper's infamous "Nighthawk" portrait, the work was shown to portray the gloomy and dark aftermaths of the Second World War. His art piece shows the lonely and dark worlds of the people in the restaurant. Specifically the work shows a midnight scene of "Phillies diner" which shows to be one women and two men and a bartender. The audience can immediately tell not only the physical distance between the customers, but the emotional distance as well. This painting was completed in 1942 and was sold to Art Institute of Chicago.

Manet's portrait of Olympia received a lot of backslash because many of his paintings in general, were centered around nude women. This was not seen as appropriate or modest in any way. In his painting, he is describing a lower socio class prostitute who is lying on a bed shown with a seductive gaze and a flower in her hair. The bouquet of flowers, as seen with the maid on the right, is thought to be from her lover.

The final work of the exhibit is Grant Wood's infamous painting, American Gothic. This painting was made in 1930, at very beginning of the Great Depression. This artwork is seen as more of an American Modernism painting, but the meaning behind it is still crucial. Mr. Woods recognized an odd shaped house in the middle of Iowa. He used his dentist, Mr. McKeeby and his sister, nan as the main figures. The dark atmosphere, associated with the scared/worried look on the women's face encourages this idea of mourning America, since it was centered around an economical crossing in the 1930's. There are still many interpretations today as to why the women looks as worried as she does, and why the man is holding a pitch fork, but they all agree that this was a ow point for many people in America.

These three works function together to show everyday life in a naturalistic manner.