The new record for a Rockwell

One of Norman Rockwell’s most famous paintings, discovered hidden behind a fake wall in its owner’s Vermont home, has sold for $15.4 million.

“Breaking Home Ties,” which “Henry” comic strip illustrator Donald Trachte Sr. purchased from Rockwell for $900 when the two were neighbors in Arlington, Vt., in 1960, was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder, Sotheby’s auction house said Thursday.

Sotheby’s said the price eclipsed a previous Rockwell record set by “Homecoming Marine,” which it sold for $9.2 million in May.

Edward Hopper’s “Hotel Window” also brought a record price when it sold for $26.8 million. The auctioneer said the 1955 large-scale canvas broke a 1990 record of $2.4 million for a Hopper, “South Truro Church.” The buyer’s identity was not revealed.