Famous Pool Painting Becomes Most Expensive Painting Ever Sold

The current record for most expensive painting ever sold by a living artist belongs to David Hockney. His Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) recently sold for $90,312,500 at an auction conducted by Christie’s. The record-breaking painting is the single most expensive piece of artwork ever sold; that is by an artist that’s still breathing.

Hockney described himself once as “cooler than Warhol, more enduring than Lucien Freud.” The British native made a name for himself in the 1960’s after relocating to Los Angeles. It was in L.A. that he created some of his best known work, paintings featuring realistic depictions of swimming pools and Hollywood architecture.

Hockney first visited California in January 1964, following a successful first solo exhibition at the John Kasmin gallery. The United States captivated him, particularly Los Angeles, owing to the impact of its modern buildings and Hollywood in general.

The swimming pool was a constant topic in Hockney’s paintings after he created California Art Collector in 1964, including Peter Getting Out of Nick’s Pool (1966, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), and most memorably A Bigger Splash (1967, Tate Gallery). Between 1968 and 1977, he created a number of double portraits, such as American Collectors (Fred and Marcia Weisman) (1968, Art Institute of Chicago), Mr. and Mrs. Clark, and Percy (1971, Tate Gallery).

The swimming pool and the double portrait, two of Hockney’s subjects from his paintings from the late 1960s and early 1970s, are combined in the piece ‘Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)’. It shows a man swimming breaststroke underwater while wearing white trunks, while another is shown standing at the pool’s edge wearing full clothing and gazing down at the swimmer. The scene of the artwork is southern France, close to Saint-Tropez. With a view of hills covered in trees in the backdrop, the foreground is flattened and simplified in typical Hockney fashion.

A chance meeting of two photographs—one of a man swimming underwater, shot in California in 1966, and the other of a man standing and staring at the ground—that Hockney saw on his studio floor served as the inspiration for the composition. When compared, it seemed as though the person standing was staring at the swimmer.

Hockney said of the painting, “I must admit I loved working on that picture, […] working with such intensity; it was marvelous doing it, really thrilling”

The sale history of that particular painting is interesting in itself. In 1972, James Astor and his wife purchased the picture for $18,000, which would be worth $117,000 in 2021. It was sold again six months later for $50,000, which would be $324,000 in 2021. American billionaire David Geffen bought it in 1983, then in 1995, he sold it to British billionaire Joe Lewis for an undisclosed sum.

When asked by CBC Radio, why Hockney started painting swimming pools, he replied:

‘In England, a swimming pool would have been seen as a sign of luxury, because the climate in England is not very good for outdoor pools. But in Southern California, it’s not — they’re simply everywhere because you can enjoy them year-round.’

‘The first place I lived, I rented a small apartment with an outdoor swimming pool. I mean, I didn’t own the pool, but nevertheless it was there.’

Featured Photo Credit: Johannes Schmitt-Tegge/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images