David Hockney's pool painting auction could smash art world record – catch it in Hong Kong before sale
Christie’s expects British artist’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) to sell for US$80 million – which would be a record amount for a living artist
A swimming pool painting by David Hockney could become the most valuable work of art by a living artist sold at auction.
Christie’s in New York announced on Thursday that it was selling Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) with an estimate in the region of US$80m. The painting, a star of Hockney’s recent retrospective, is reportedly owned by Joe Lewis, the Bahamas-based billionaire and owner of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
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Anywhere near the estimate, which is nearly three times the price of the most expensive Hockney sold at auction, would break the record. Jeff Koons holds the title after his stainless steel Balloon Dog (Orange) sold for US$58m in 2013. Next is Gerhard Richter, the most expensive European artist, after Abstraktes Bild (1988) sold in London in 2015 for £30.4m ($46m).
Before its sale in New York in November, the work will be exhibited in Hong Kong on September 28-29, London on October 3-5, and Los Angeles on October 23-27.
The most expensive Hockney auctioned is Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica which sold at Sotheby’s New York this year for US$28.5m.
