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The Hockney Pool Picture to Watch Tonight

November 15, 2018 by Marion Maneker

All eyes will be on lot number 9 tonight at Christie’s to see if one of the many potential buyers will meet consignor Joe Lewis’s $100m price ambition. With the no reserve announced, the real question is where the bidding opens. Will there be bids in the book? At what level? Could the painting possibly start at $1?

There’s no denying the artist’s work had a strong night at Sotheby’s last night with two later works—the domestic Montcalm Interior with 2 Dogs and the landscape Moving Wisp—performing near or above the high estimates to make $12.7m and $8.5m respectively. Sotheby’s has been leading the way in the Hockney market lately with strong sales for the later works. In May, the firm pulled off a major sale with the Piscine de Medianoche (Paper Pool 30) making nearly $12m over a $5-7m estimate range.

No matter what happens with Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)—and AMMpro subscribers can read our data analysis on the Hockney market here—Christie’s has a paper pool from the same year, 1978, with an estimate almost as low, $6-8m, and a massive provenance. Hunk and Moo Anderson built a legendary collection of 20th Century art. The masterpieces went to found a museum at Stanford University but Moo and her daughter are selling their equally impressive collection of works on paper at Christie’s.

Add to this the sunnier composition on Sprungbrett mit Schatten (Paper Pool 14) and the work’s position in Christie’s sale five lots after Lewis’s lot. Whether bidders take the bait and drive the big lot to $80 or $100m or someone gets it at a steal of $40 or $50m, the paper pool is positioned to benefit.

In other words, no matter what happens to Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), the Hockney market remains strong and the paper pool offers one of the artist’s best images at a price most collectors can swallow.

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Sotheby’s Pulls in a $9m David Hockney for NovemberSotheby’s Pulls in a $9m David Hockney for November
  • Thin Trading in the Hockney Market Makes $80m Hard to PredictThin Trading in the Hockney Market Makes $80m Hard to Predict
  • Christie’s Makes It Official: Hockney Masterwork Looking for $80m in New York This NovemberChristie’s Makes It Official: Hockney Masterwork Looking for $80m in New York This November
  • David Hockney’s $20m Pacific Coast Highway & Santa MonicaDavid Hockney’s $20m Pacific Coast Highway & Santa Monica
  • Hockney’s Multiple Market: Deep, Complex and VolatileHockney’s Multiple Market: Deep, Complex and Volatile
  • Taschen Previews 680-page David Hockney SUMOTaschen Previews 680-page David Hockney SUMO

Filed Under: Artists Tagged With: David Hockney

About Marion Maneker

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