David Hockney could become most valuable living artist

David Hockney is set to become the most valuable living artist if one of his masterpieces sells for £62million.

British artist Mr Hockney, 81, painted ‘Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)’ in 1972.

It features a man in trunks swimming breast stroke towards the end of the pool with Mr Hockey’s former boyfriend, artist Peter Schlesinger, looking down at him.

 

David Hockney, 81, could become the most valuable living artist if his 1971 ‘Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)’ (above) painting sells for £62million

The painting features Mr Hockney's (left) former boyfriend, artist Peter Schlesinger (pictured right in 1974), glancing down at a swimming figure

The painting features Mr Hockney’s (left) former boyfriend, artist Peter Schlesinger (pictured right in 1974), glancing down at a swimming figure

The artist, from Bradford in West Yorkshire, painted the piece in London from photographs taken at Le Nid du Duc in the South of France.

It measures 213.5cm x 305cm and is currently owned by Joe Lewis – the rags-to-riches British billionaire who owns Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

The record-breaking painting is currently owned by billionaire Joe Lewis (Mr Hockney pictured in Los Angeles earlier this year)

The record-breaking painting is currently owned by billionaire Joe Lewis (Mr Hockney pictured in Los Angeles earlier this year)

Mr Lewis, who made his fortune in currency trading, is looking to offload the painting for $80 million (£62m), according to a report by Bloomberg.

He has reportedly been in touch with numerous auction houses about the possibility of selling it later this year.

If it sells for $80 million (£62m), it will make Mr Hockney the most expensive living artist, smashing the $58.4 million (£45m) paid for Jeff Koons’ Orange Balloon Dog sculpture at Christie’s auction house in 2013.

Mr Hockney is one of Britain’s most famous artists and demand for his work continues to grow.

The current record for a Hockney painting is £21 million – paid earlier this year for the 1990 oil canvas Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica.

In 2016, a study for Portrait of an Artist was sold for £1.6 million – three times its lower estimate.

Last year, the London Tate held a David Hockney exhibition which included ‘Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)’.

It was the world’s most extensive retrospective of Mr Hockney’s work and was the Tate’s most visited exhibition ever, with more than 478,000 people attending. 

Joe Lewis, who lives in the Bahamas and owns a £110 million super-yacht, has a vast art collection made up of works by the likes of Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani and Francis Bacon.

It is rumoured his collection is worth more than £1 billion.

A spokesperson for Mr Lewis has been approached for comment.

A Bigger Splash: David Hockney and Peter Schlesinger’s on-off love affair 

David Hockney and Peter Schlesinger met in 1966, when the British painter was teaching a summer course at the University of Los Angeles. 

This was the start of a turbulent love affair that would take a then 19-year-old Schlesinger on a tour across Europe – where Hockney’s interest in photography blossomed.

The artist would take endless shots of his new beau, some for study, and others to reference for future paintings.

But in 1971, the relationship became tense – aggravated by the couple’s ten-year age gap and Schlesinger’s need for space.

The two reunited in Barcelona soon after their split, but the younger artist felt Hockney placed his work above everything else, and again became frustrated in the relationship.

He decided to leave Hockney for good, and the British artist was so devastated that he began taking Valium to combat his loneliness.

The on-and-off relationship was featured in Jack Hazan’s 1973 biographical film A Bigger Splash – named after Hockney’s 1967 painting.

The film was banned in many countries for its explicit portrayal of homosexuality.

Sources: David Hockney and New York Times



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