Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper (1882-1967) Rain on River
watercolor on paper 13 1/2 x 19 1/2 in 1938 Provenance: Rehn Gallery, New York, 1957 Private Collection, Nashville, Tennessee (by descent in the family) Exhibited: Middlebury College Museum of Art, Edward Hopper in Vermont, May 23-August 11, 2013 Literature: Edward Hopper catalog raisonne Vol. 2, pg. 294 Bonnie Tocher Clause, Edward Hopper in Vermont, University Press of New England, 2012
Market Analysis – Edward Hopper Works on Paper Top-quality Edward Hopper watercolors are finite and decreasing in availability. Since 1986, only 47 have appeared at auction – and many Edward Hoppers are already housed in museum collections: Of Hopper’s 357 watercolors, 215 are in museums. Of Hopper’s 366 oil paintings, 321 are in museums.
Many museums are also looking to increase their Hopper holdings, which will remove additional works from the marketplace and drive up ever-increasing prices for this prominent American artist. Indeed, the scarcity of important works has led to a very strong market performance for the relatively few available works to appear in the marketplace over the past 10 years. We are witnessing ever- increasing prices paid for the top works by the artist. Rain on River is part of a series of watercolors Hopper created while working along the White River in Vermont. These works, in their portrayals of country landscapes and architecture, reflect a time when Hopper sought respite from New York city life, choosing instead to spend summers in the White River Valley. Pieces from this series are housed at museums including Washington, DC’s Smithsonian Institution and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. In 2013, the Middlebury College Museum of Art hosted Edward Hopper in Vermont, an exhibition showcasing the paintings and drawings created by Hopper in Vermont, including Rain on River.
Artworks by Hopper have set a steady beat of auction records. His top sale occurred on November 13, 2018, with the sale of Chop Suey (1929) at Christie’s New York for $91,875,000. Hopper’s top three records for watercolors are: Kelly Jenness House, 1932 20 in x 28 in, watercolor on paper Sold for $4,155,750 at auction in May of 2013
Cottages at North Truro, 1938 20 in x 28 in, watercolor on paper Sold for $3,492,500 at auction in November of 2018
Rich’s House, 1930 16 in x 25 in, Watercolor and charcoal on paper Sold for $3,252,500 at auction in May of 2018
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