#storybehindtheart
In February 1929, Edward Hopper had a new solo show at the Rehn Gallery, his first and lifelong art dealer. He got many very positive reviews and among them, an article in Vanity Fair by the art critic Forbes Watson. Watson wrote "there is much more than just an eye for American material in his high-domed head. Guiding that eye there is a richly critical mind."
Chop Suey was among the artworks exhibited at Rehn Gallery and it captures a moment in time inspired by a Chinese restaurant that the Hopper would often go to in New York City. As in all his paintings, the female figures were modeled after Jo Hopper, his wife.
Guy Pene du Bois, artist and writer congratulates his friend. They had studied art together; Guy had been Edward's best man and they remained lifelong friends. He was of French origin, and they would often mix French and English in their letters.
Chop Suey sold in 2018 for $92M establishing a new record for Hopper and for American artists.
Sources:
Edward Hopper, an intimate biography Gail Levin
Guy Pène Du Bois Papers in the Archives of American Art
A Note on Edward Hopper, Forbes Watson February 1929, Vanity Fair
Edward Hopper’s “Chop Suey” Sells for $91.9 Million at Christie’s Sale of Ebsworth Estate, Artsy, November 2018
Edouard in Vanity Fair, 2022
Acrylic on canvas, 30"x 24" (76 x 67 cm)