Over 25 years ago a young man brought an impression of Edward Hopper’s Evening Wind (1921) etching to learn its value. Research supported a retail price of roughly $10,000. This amazed the young man as his father had traded an etching he made for this one by Edward Hopper. The original price of $15 was still written in graphite on the back of the print.
I cautioned the young man to protect the print’s condition by keeping it in an acid-free folder. The young man then asked to whom he could sell it. After learning that he had young children, I suggested that he simply keep the print, as down the road it would only become more valuable, due to the importance of the artist coupled with the understanding that Evening Wind was a seminal example of Hopper’s printmaking.
Over the years I learned from a dealer that he had paid the young man $8,000.00 for his impression. Upon receiving the latest catalogue from The Old Print Shop in New York this week, I noticed their listing of an impression of Evening Wind by Hopper for $175,000.00.
Corinne Cain of SavvyCollector.com