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NEW YORK – A painting by British artist David Hockney brought $ 90.3 million to Christie's on Thursday night, easily beating the record of a live artist auctioned.
Among his famous "pool paints", "Portrait of an Artist (Two Person Pool)" is considered one of his most outstanding works. The previous living artist record was set by Jeff Koons' "Balloon Dog", which sold for $ 58.4 million in 2013.
Hockney's 1972 chart, now 81 years old, is "the holy grail of his paintings, both historically and commercially," said Alex Rotter, co-chair of Christie's, co-chair of the art gallery. post-war and contemporary art, in September. He noted that this reflected both the European and American perspectives of an artist who settled in the 1960s in sunny California and considered himself alive on both continents.
"It contains all the elements you would like in a Hockney painting," Rotter said in an interview. He noted that writers have described the pool as a kind of self-portrait of Hockney, although he never confirmed it, simply baderting that he was fascinated by the painting at it. White water.
The painting, whose buyer was not immediately revealed, was long held by a private collector.
A depiction of two men – one swimming badstroke under the water, the other standing by the pool – looking down – the painting was originally inspired, d & # 39; After the background provided by Christie's, by two photographs found by Hockney juxtaposed on the floor of his studio, one of a Hollywood swimmer in 1966, and another boy looking at something On the ground.
The rocky landscape is in the south of France and it is said that the standing figure represents Peter Schlesinger, whom the artist met in 1966, while the young man was a student in one of Hockney's art clbades in UCLA. According to Christie's, he was both "the great love of Hockney's life" and one of his favorite models.
The relationship ended in 1971. Hockney had already started the painting and he abandoned it, starting again the following year.
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