That's a lot of money for an hour's work. My mother who was more interested in talking than buying said something about it not being an original. Gruppes was struck by the way a squiggle appeared to be a man. I can not think of anything to add to her comment, Emile Gruppe was a genius. He had a gift.
Few painters have it.
He expressed it often. Those are the subjects that keep you from going stale. Everyone subconsciously appreciates this beauty. I make an impression on a canvas and let one's imagination fill in the details. The Sadie Noonan was a painting done as a demonstration in 1966.