Final Jeopardy: American Artists (2-3-26)

The Final Jeopardy question (2/3/2026) in the category “American Artists” was:

His 1967 New York Times obituary called him a “painter of loneliness”

It’s the second final game of the 2026 Tournament of Champions, featuring: Scott Riccardi, an engineer from Somerville, NJ;; Paolo Pasco, a puzzle writer from San Diego, CA; and TJ Fisher, a marketing specialist from San Francisco, CA.

AT THE GATE: SCOTT 0 * PAOLO 1 * TJ 0

Round 1 Categories: Let’s See Some I.D. – On the Endangered & Threatened List – Cover Songs – Back in the USSR – Bags – Words of Mouth

Paolo found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Words of Mouth” under the $800 clue on the 3rd pick of the round. He was the only one on the board with $1,800. Paolo risked it all, and he was RIGHT.

A WWII ad campaign warned Americans about the risks of giving info to the enemy, leading to this 4-word rhyming slogan show

WHAT IS “LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS”?

Paolo finished in the lead with $6,800. Scott was second with $2,600, and TJ was last with negative $1,400. All clues were shown.

Round 2 Categories: Before, During & After – Odd Political Terms – That’s a Long Title – U.S. Geography – There Are Spies in My TV – African-American Trailblazers

Paolo found the first Daily Double in “Before, During & After” under the $1,600 clue on the 2nd pick of the round. He was in the lead with $8,000, $5,400 more than Scott in second place. Paolo wagered $8,000 and he was RIGHT.

Piscine entry in a Douglas Adams sci-fi series that’s in an unusual or uncomfortable situation listening to a Handel suite show

WHAT IS SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH OUT OF WATER MUSIC?

On the very next pick, Paolo got the last Daily Double in “That’s a Long Title” under the $1,200 clue. In the lead now with $16,000, he had $13,400 more than Scott in second place. Paolo bet $6,000 and he was RIGHT.

This Swift title continues, “for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents…” show

WHAT IS “A MODEST PROPOSAL”?

Paolo finished in the lead with a runaway $31,200. Scott was in second place with $9,800. TJ was last with $4,600. All clues were shown.

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ALL of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHO IS EDWARD HOPPER?

Edward Hopper (1893-1967), American realist painter, is best known for his 1942 painting “Nighthawks”. Hopper became known for his ability to depict urban isolation and loneliness, although he said himself that “Nighthawks” had more to do with predators that come out at night than the loneliness many people saw.

Hopper did concede that “unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city.” That particular quote has come up in a couple of Jeopardy! clues, most recently in 9x champ Isaac Hirsch’s first game on 7/3/2024: PAINTINGS ($800) About this painting, Edward Hopper said, “Unconsciously… I was painting the loneliness of a large city”

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TJ got it right. He bet $3,177 and finished with $7,777.

Scott got it right, too. He stood pat on his $9,800.

Paolo made it a 3 out of 3. He bet $1,105 and won the game with $32,305. One more game like this for Paolo and this tournament is over.

AT THE FINISH LINE: SCOTT 0 * PAOLO 2 * TJ 0

A triple stumper from each round:

BACK IN THE USSR ($400) At about 2.5 million, this city was the most populous Soviet city not in Russia at the time of the USSR’s end

THERE ARE SPIES IN MY TV ($1200) He was beloved as Bunk Moreland on “The Wire” before doing 4 seasons as James Greer, the loyal field boss and co-spy of Jack Ryan

More clues on Page 2

2 years ago: NONE of the players got this FJ in “LITERARY CHARACTERS”

A 1902 work says an enigmatic character has a half-English mom & a half-French dad, but this name of his is German for “short” show

WHAT IS KURTZ?

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