A captivating surrealist painting from 1956, The Magician, by Chicago artist Gertrude Abercrombie, levitated past expectations at Freemans/Hindmans Post War and Contemporary Art Auction held Sept. 25, achieving $469,900, over six times its pre-sale estimate of $70,000$90,000. The sale marks a new auction record for the artist. Fueled by an intense bidding war via phone from the firms Chicago saleroom, the sale marks another record-breaking moment for Abercrombies work. The auction house surpassed its own record for the artist for the second time, following the sales of The Dinosaur for $387,500 in February 2022 and Untitled (Woman with Tethered Horse and Moon) for $437,500 in December 2022.