David Hockney painting by Lucian Freud sold for £15 M at Sotheby's in London

CAIRO – 30 June 2021: A David Hockney painting by Lucian Freud has sold for £15 million at Sotheby's in London.

A David Hockney painting by Lucian Freud - Sothebey's 

The painting has not been seen in public since it was shown at the National Portrait Gallery in 2012.

Five collectors followed up on the auction and placed bids over the phone through Sotheby's representatives in New York, London and Asia.

Hockney & Freud during the painting of the portrait

The painting is one of the most creative portraits ever drawn by an artist on canvases. 

Park Avenue Auctions is also preparing to release David Hockney's Dream Home in California painting. The price of the painting ranges between $12 - 18$ million. It will be among the largest pieces to be displayed in the sale.

The painting, from Hockney's "California Dreams" series, depicts a manicured green lawn in front of a concrete apartment building, with a water-spraying system on the lawn.

Robert Manley, Vice President of the Board of Park Avenue Auctions, said in a statement: “The elegant garden is one of the most important examples of Hockney's 'California Dreams', which have long been considered among his greatest accomplishments.”

The work was last sold at Christie's in 2006 for $3.6 million, a record price for an artist at the time. Since then, Hockney auction prices have skyrocketed. Portrait of an artist (combining two figures) in 1972, was sold for $90.3 million at Christie's, New York in November 2019.