Des Moines Art Center says au revoir to iconic painting

State of play: "Automat" is one of Hopper's most important paintings and the Art Center receives several loan requests for it every year.

• Most of the requests are denied. But in this rare instance, officials agreed to loan it to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York for their upcoming Edward Hopper exhibition.

What's next: A new Margaret Bourke-White photograph will take Automat's place for the time being, as well as the lesser-known Hopper piece "The Forked Road," which is not often displayed because of its fragility.