20 Things You Didn't Know About Psycho

8. The Bates House Is Modelled After Edward Hopper's Painting "House By The Railroad"

Psycho Janet Leigh
Paramount & Edward Hopper

The Bates house is one of the most iconic and distinctive structures in cinema history, but the look of the house was actually heavily inspired by Edward Hopper's 1925 oil panting "House by the Railroad."

The painting was the first ever acquired by New York's Museum of Modern Art, and from the architecture of the house itself to the surrounding area, and the perspective of the image, the influence is obvious.

As for the painting's own inspiration, Hopper painted a very real house that still stands today in Haverstraw, New York. Little could he ever have expected the impact his work would have on Hitchcock and, as a result, pop-culture.

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