The 1929 painting, Chop Suey, by Edward Hopper, sold for $91,875,000 (including auction and buyer premiums) on November 13, 2018. It was the premiere lot at Christie’s November sale of American art, and provided quite a return for the heirs dispensing the Barney A. Ebsworth marquee collection. A native of St. Louis, Ebsworth made his fortune in the travel industry (Royal Cruise Lines). He maintained ties with museums across the country because of his stellar collection. Reportedly, Ebsworth promised to gift the painting to the Seattle Art Museum about 2007 and contradicted those statements in later years. Even if it’s spelled out directly, wills and contracts can be broken.
The hammer price for Chop Suey was 85 million net which fell squarely within its presale auction estimate range of 70 million to 100 million. The buyer is unknown. There was a bidding war, and initial rumors suggest it was acquired for a public collection.
Hopper’s prices have raced since 2000. Hopper’s former record at auction was 40.5 million- also at Christie’s– for East Wind Over Weehawken, a 1934 oil painting sold on November 26, 2013. That sale toppled Hopper’s prior record of $26.9 million (for Hotel Window).
Just ten years ago, one of Hopper’s large Gloucester houses drawings, Prospect Street Gloucester, 1928/1929, sold for 2 million from yet another Christie’s sale. Hopper’s 1934 oil painting Sun on Prospect Street has been part of the Cincinnati Art Museum collection as a result of the Edwin and Virginia Irwin Memorial since 1959.
At 8.4 million, Cape Ann Granite was a savvy purchase from the sales last spring.
Good Morning Gloucester 