Edward Hopper’s 1929 painting Chop Suey sold for a record US$91.9m at Christie’s evening sale of The Barney A. Ebsworth Collection, setting a new high for the realist artist, as well as the most expensive work of pre-war American art. Besides the Hopper painting, twelve artist auction records were set at the sale, including Willem de Kooning’s Woman as Landscape that sold for US$68.9m.
Barney Ebsworth, the luxury-travel executive and renowned collector of American art
The sale offered 42 works from the estate of Barney Ebsworth, the luxury-travel executive and renowned collector of American art, who died in April. In spite of the setback in its Impressionist and Modern Art sale on Monday night, Christie’s pulled off an impressive US$317.8m Barney A. Ebsworth Collection Evening Sale, achieving an 88% sell-through rate by selling 37 of 42 lots offered.
Paintings by the prominent American realist painter Edward Hopper are mostly focused on emotional themes of loneliness, regret, boredom. Chop Suey, one of the last important Hopper paintings from the 1920s in private hands, shows two women sitting at a table in a Chinese restaurant but the two figures seem to be disconnected with each other.
The painting sparked a bidding battle between Eric P. Widing (second from the left) and Loic Gouzer (second from the right)
Estimated at US$70m-100m, Chop Suey sparked a bidding battle between Loic Gouzer, Chairman of Post-War & Contemporary Art, and Eric P. Widing, Deputy Chairman, American Art. Started at US$45m as the opening bid, the price soon reached the low estimate US$70m after several bids with a bid increment of 5m.The bidding war continued until the auctioneer brought the hammer down at US$85m, a bid offered by Loic Gouzer’s telephone bidder. Chop Suey sold for US$91.9m with premium included, a new record price for the artist, as well as the most expensive work of pre-war American art.
The auction record for Hopper was previously held by his 1934 East Wind Over Weehawken, which sold for US$40.5m at Christie’s New York in 2013.
Other highlights of the sale include Willem de Kooning’s Woman as Landscape from 1954-55, estimated at US$60m-80m. The bidding opened at US$50m and the work was hammered down for US$61m to Alex Rotter, Chairman of Post-War & Contemporary Art. It sold for US$68.9m after premium, the second highest price of the sale, surpassing its previous record of US$66.3m set in 2016 for the artist’s 1977 Untitled XXV.
The third highest price of the sale was realised by Jackson Pollock’s 1950 Composition with Red Strokes, estimated at US$50m-70m. It was hammered down at US$49m, below its low estimate, and sold for US$55.4m to Swiss dealer Doris Ammann in the saleroom.
Arshile Gorky's 1944 Good Afternoon, Mrs. Lincoln sold for a record US$14m for the artist
The sale totalled US$317m, making it one of the top five collections sold at auction. It has reset thirteen auction records for artists like Arshile Gorky, Patrick Henry Bruce, Francis Criss, Joseph Stella and Suzy Frelinghuysen.
The auction also marked the first time an art auction has been recorded on a blockchain, via a secure digital registry administered by Artory, a leading independent digital registry for the art market. The Artory blockchain registry records all public information regarding the sale of each lot in the Ebsworth Collection, including title, description, final price, and date, and produce a digital certificate of the transaction for the auction house.
Top five lots
Edward Hopper (1882-1967). Chop Suey
Lot no.: 12B
Painted in: 1929
Size: 81.3 x 96.5 cm
Provenance:
- The artist.
- [With]Frank K.M. Rehn Gallery, New York.
- Mr. and Mrs. Mark Reed, Alexandria, Virginia, acquired from the above, 1950.
- [With]Frank K.M. Rehn Gallery, New York.
- Mr. and Mrs. Louis Cohen, Great Neck, New York, acquired from the above, 1968.
- [With]William Zierler, Inc., New York, 1972.
- Acquired by the late owner from the above, 1973.
Estimate: US$70,000,000-100,000,000
Hammer price: US$85,000,000
Price realised: US$91,875,000
Willem de Kooning (1904-1997). Woman as Landscape
Lot no.: 7B
Painted in: 1954-1955
Size: 166.3 x 125.4 cm
Provenance:
- Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, 1955
- Michel Tapié, Paris, 1957
- Alberto Ulrich, Italy
- Pace Gallery, New York
- Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kardon, Philadelphia, 1974
- Steve Martin, Beverly Hills and New York, circa 1991
- Acquired from the above by the late owner, 1997
Estimate: US$60,000,000-80,000,000
Hammer price: US$61,000,000
Price realised: US$68,937,500
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956). Composition with Red Strokes
Lot no.: 17B
Painted in: 1950
Size: 93 x 65.1 cm
Provenance:
- Rodolphe Stadler, Paris
- Phillippe Dotremont, Brussels
- Robert Elkon Gallery, New York
- Mr. and Mrs. N. Richard Miller, Philadelphia
- Stephen Mazoh, Inc., New York
- Private collection, 1996
- Jason McCoy, Inc., New York, 1997
- Acquired from the above by the late owner, 1997
Estimate: US$50,000,000-70,000,000
Hammer price: US$49,000,000
Price realised: US$55,437,500
Jasper Johns (b. 1930). Gray Rectangles
Lot no.: 19B
Painted in: 1957
Size: 152.4 x 152.4 cm
Provenance:
- Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
- Everett Ellin Gallery, Los Angeles
- Ben and Judy Heller, New York, 1963
- Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
- Victor and Sally Ganz, New York, 1964
- Their sale; Sotheby's, New York, 10 November 1988, lot 9
- Acquired at the above sale by the late owner
Estimate: US$18,000,000-25,000,000
Hammer price: US$18,500,000
Price realised: US$21,125,000
Arshile Gorky (1904-1948). Good Afternoon, Mrs. Lincoln
Lot no.: 4B
Painted in: 1944
Size: 76.5 x 96.5 cm
Provenance:
- Estate of the artist
- Merrill C. Berman, New York
- Allan Stone Gallery, New York, 1974
- Acquired from the above by the late owner, 1997
Estimate: US$7,000,000-9,000,000
Hammer price: US$12,200,000
Price realised: US$14,037,500
Joan Mitchell (1925-1992). 12 Hawks at 3 O'Clock
Lot no.: 14B
Painted in: 1960
Size: 295.6 x 200 cm
Provenance:
- Sam Francis, Santa Monica, acquired directly from the artist
- Estate of Sam Francis
- Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam
- Anon. sale; Christie's, New York, 7 May 1997, lot 5
- Acquired at the above sale by the late owner
Estimate: US$12,000,000-16,000,000
Hammer price: US$12,200,00
Price realised: US$14,037,500
Auction summary:
Auction house: Christie’s New York
Sale: An American Place | The Barney A. Ebsworth Collection Evening Sale
Date: 13 November 2018
Lots offered: 42
Sold: 37
Unsold: 5
Sold by lot: 88%
Sale total: US$317,801,250