Edward Hopper’s ‘Cape Cod’ sells online for $9.6M

Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
October on Cape Cod
oil on canvas 26 1/4 x 42 1/4 in. (66.7 x 107.3 cm)
Painted in 1946.
Estimate: $8,000,000–12,000,000
Sold for $9,602,500

Edward Hopper’s ‘Cape Cod’ sells online for $9.6M Edward Hopper’s ‘October on Cape Cod’ has been sold for $9,602,500 via Christie’s LIVE, setting a new record for the most expensive item sold to an online bidder at any international auction house.]]>

November 29, 2012, source: Christie’s

On 28 November at the American Art auction in New York, an online bidder participating in the sale via Christie’s LIVE™ purchased Edward Hopper’s October on Cape Cod for $9,602,500 (£5,953,550 / €7,393,925), setting a new record for the most expensive item sold online at any international auction house. Christie’s previous house record of $3.3 million was established in 2010 with the sale of a rare Shang dynasty bronze wine vessel.

Since 2007, every category of fine art, antiques and collectibles sold in Christie’s salerooms worldwide have been enabled for online bidding via Christie’s LIVE™, the company’s real-time multimedia platform. Since that time, participation in online bidding in Christie’s auctions worldwide has increased steadily; for the year 2011, 29% of Christie’s bidders transacted online, and the LIVE™ platform drew 25% more bids than the previous year. Earlier this year, Christie’s announced its further expansion into online-only sales of fine and rare wines, vintage couture, prints & multiples and special collections, offering clients additional online buying opportunities, no matter where in the world they may be located.

Elizabeth Sterling, Head of American Art at Christie’s in New York comments: “The sale of Edward Hopper’s October on Cape Cod has set a new world record for the most expensive item sold online at any international auction house, realizing $9.6 million, underscoring collectors’ commitment to securing works of exceptional quality by American masters.“

Another work by Hopper, “Barn at Essex”, a watercolor executed in 1929, was sold for $1,762,500. Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Sun Water Maine”, a pastel created in 1922, achieved $2,210,500.

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