Nighthawks Auction History

Edward Hopper (the artist); consigned in 1942 to Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries (New York); sold the same year to the Art Institute of Chicago, accessioned as 1942.51 [1].

Hopper’s May 13, 1942 letter to AIC director Daniel Catton Rich confirms the museum’s plan to acquire the painting [2]. AIC’s chronology records that the museum returned Hopper’s Compartment C, Car 293 in partial payment toward Nighthawks [3]. The purchase price is widely reported as $3,000, though it is not stated on AIC’s public pages [5][6].

Because the Art Institute of Chicago acquired Nighthawks directly in 1942 and has retained it ever since, the painting has no public auction record and thus no market-derived benchmark price [1][2][4]. The transaction flowed from Hopper to Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries to the museum and included a trade-in of another Hopper painting, documented in AIC’s chronology [1][3]. A purchase price of $3,000 is widely reported in reputable secondary sources and supported by a transcribed 1942 invoice, though it is not stated on AIC’s own public pages [5][6].

For understanding value within Edward Hopper’s market, observers look to comparable works that have traded publicly. The artist’s current auction pinnacle is Chop Suey (1929), which realized $91,875,000 including premium at Christie’s in 2018, setting a record for the artist and for pre-war American art at auction [7][8]. Another key benchmark is East Wind Over Weehawken (1934), which sold for $40.5 million at Christie’s in 2013 [8][9]. These results illustrate sustained demand for major Hopper oils, especially urban scenes and works with strong exhibition histories.

Nighthawks occupies a singular, canonical position in American art and remains museum-held at AIC (accession 1942.51) [1][4]. Its early institutional acquisition and continuous custody mean it does not influence auction indices for the artist directly, yet its prominence has shaped broader recognition and demand for Hopper’s oeuvre. In short, while Nighthawks itself has no auction trail, market context from record-setting Hopper works provides the clearest proxy for understanding price levels at the top of this artist’s market [7][8][9].