David Hockney Painting Sells for a Record 90.3 Million Dollars

David Hockney's painting "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" was sold Thursday by Christie's in New York for $90.3 million, a record for an artist that is still living. The buyer is still unknown.

So, why is this painting so valuable?

Architectural Digest: Hockney completed the painting in 1972 after the end of his relationship with artist and muse Peter Schlesinger. In the acrylic-on-canvas painting set against a halcyon background of lush green hills, Schlesinger stares down into a shimmering pool, an abstract figure swimming toward him. The painting embodies the two motifs for which Hockey is best known—the double portrait and the pool—the only work to combine both."He looked figurative, but he had an abstract mind...so the combination of these things really comes together," Rotter adds. "It's the best the artist has to offer."

The Guardian: "Alex Rotter, co-chairman of postwar and contemporary art at Christie’s, said Hockney’s pool painting was “one of the great masterpieces of the modern era”.

Rotter said: “David Hockney’s brilliance as an artist is on full display with this monumental canvas, which encapsulates the essence of the idealised poolside landscape, and the tremendous complexity that exists within human relationships."

Photo Credit: Christie's Images LTD

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