"On November 17, during an evening dedicated to the major artistic movements of the 20th century, Christie's auctioned the first of the double portraits that British painter David Hockney created in the mid-1960s. This painting is the last of the series of works that remained in private hands and which changed the course of his painting, becoming a landmark of Pop Art and of gay visibility."
"The painting was finally sold for $44,335,000 (approximately 38,495,000), far from the highest prices the artist has fetched in the past, but still beyond the budgets of public institutions. The unknown buyer likely appreciated the exceptional history of the painting and the two figures portrayed: a pair of men who maintained a publicly known romantic relationship the British writer Christopher Isherwood and the American artist Don Bachardy."
"To understand the significance of this work, we must go back to 1964, when the British painter David Hockney decided to leave England and move to Los Angeles, California. He had neither a job nor a place to live there. The painter has never fully explained the reasons that led him to move, but in retrospect, leaving London and going to a place more receptive to his social and emotional needs was a decision that made a lot of sense."
Christie's auctioned a mid-1960s double portrait by David Hockney on November 17, the last of the series still in private hands. The series transformed Hockney's painting and became a landmark of Pop Art and gay visibility. Only seven portraits exist, four held by public institutions and two recently sold for record prices. The painting fetched $44,335,000, below Hockney's highest auction results but beyond public institutions' budgets. The work portrays Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy, a publicly known romantic couple. Hockney relocated to Los Angeles in 1964 without work or housing, seeking a more receptive social environment.
Read at english.elpais.com
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