American Gems

Sotheby’s begins to unveil masterworks in the Armand Hammer collection in November sales

By Sarah Gianelli

November 18, 2026

Sotheby's
1334 York Avenue
t: (212) 606-7000
Visit Gallery Websites

This fall, Sotheby’s will debut an international selection of works in the storied Armand Hammer collection in its Modern Evening Auction on November 18, among them masterpieces by Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Additional works in the collection will be offered in subsequent sales through early 2027.

One of the leading lots in the sale is Hopper’s marine work The Martha McKeen of Wellfleet (est. $20/30 million), executed along the Cape Cod shore in 1944. This painting “is one of Edward Hopper’s great sailing masterpieces and one of only two that still reside in private hands,” explains a Sotheby’s representative. “Though often associated with urban scenes of New York, many of Hopper’s most powerful images derive from his deep connection to the New England coastlines. Populating his compositions with bright sailboats and lighthouses, Hopper channeled his lifelong fascination with the sea…into lush, revelatory examinations of the harmony between man and nature.”

Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), Summertime, 1894-5.Oil on canvas, 395⁄8 x 32 in. Image courtesy Sotheby’s. Estimate: $7/10 million

Edward Hopper (1882-1966), The Martha McKeen of Wellfleet, 1944. Oil on canvas, 32¼ x 50¼ in., signed lower right: Edward Hopper. Image courtesy Sotheby’s. Estimate: $20/30 million

Another major American lot in the collection is Cassatt’s Summertime, 1894-95, a vibrant scene of two women observing waterfowl from the bow of their rowboat, rendered in Cassatt’s signature vigorous brushwork. With an estimate of $7 to $10 million, the piece is poised to set a new auction record for the famed American impressionist. “Few paintings by Cassatt can rival Summertime in scale, ambition or historical weight,” notes a Sotheby’s specialist. “It is the most significant work by the artist to appear at auction in 30 years, and arguably the finest example of her work ever to come to market. That distinction, together with the rarity of a mature landscape within her broader body of work, places Summertime not only among the artist’s masterpieces but among the great American impressionist paintings still in private hands.”

Visit the Sotheby’s website for updates and details about forthcoming sales featuring works from the Armand Hammer collection. —