10/23/2026
In the 1930s, a young art student named Edna Hibel spent her summers in a rented house by the sea, south of Boston. One summer she painted two of her fellow students.
Perhaps personal conflicts, or simply rejecting the style, she took a blade to the artwork, slashing an X across it and cutting the panel in two, discarding it with common weekly trash.
Fortunately, an early appreciator of her work rescued it from the landfill and stored it in an attic until it was rediscovered and appreciated in the 1950s.
Decades later, Edna herself would hear and confirm the story of her discarded work's persistent journey. Yes, she painted it, and yes, she had discarded it all those years ago.
She gave up on this style and this early work, giving way to later establishing the more famous whimsical impressionist works she's so well known for.
In it you can see hints of the Hibel to come: two figures leaning into one another, the quiet lowered eyes, the strong flowing lines, humanist figures set against an indistinct background. A rare example of the artist's earliest beginnings.
Now, for the first time ever, this artifact of her artistic evolution comes to public auction:
“Two Women,” Edna Hibel, oil on Masonite
📍 Tremont Auctions, Sudbury, MA, Lot 528
🗓 Sunday, Nov 1 at 9 AM EST (bidding open now)
🔗 https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/243858426
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