Did fugitive Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau just sell a David Hockney painting for US$30 million at Sotheby’s auction?
The Splash, a 1966 canvas, was bought by its ‘current owner’ for just £2.9 million in 2006 – potentially banking Lau an 800 per cent profit
Fugitive Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau Luen-hung sold one of the most expensive artworks at the year’s first major auction, according to a person familiar with the matter.
David Hockney’s The Splash was offered at Sotheby’s contemporary art sale in London on February 11. The painting sold for £23.1 million (US$29.9 million), which is the third highest price ever achieved for a Hockney at auction. The 1966 canvas was estimated at £20 million to £30 million.
The work last came to the market in 2006, when it fetched £2.9 million at Sotheby’s. The current owner acquired the work at that sale, according to the provenance listed by Sotheby’s.
A spokeswoman for the auction house declined to comment, while Lau didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Lau, 68, is the controlling shareholder of Chinese Estates Holdings, a Hong Kong property developer that builds offices, shopping malls and housing projects. He has an US$8.4 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.
In 2014, he was convicted of bribery and money-laundering in Macau. He avoided a five-year jail term by not travelling there. Last year, Lau filed – and later retracted – a lawsuit challenging the Hong Kong government’s proposal for extraditions to China, Macau and Taiwan, which ignited months of protests and crippled Hong Kong’s economy.
Known for his investments in art, wine and jewellery, Lau spent US$17.4 million on Andy Warhol’s Mao in 2006 and US$39.2 million on Paul Gauguin’s Te Poipoi in 2007. He bought five diamonds for US$128 million from 2009 until 2015.
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