DAVID HOCKNEY
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)
Publisher: Christie’s Inc., November 2015
Candace Wetmore, Editor
Tim Balboni, Design
Stephen Jones, William Paton, Candace Wetmore, Texts
Archival Text by David Hockney
The Painting.
Achieving a record $90,312,500, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) became the most expensive work of art sold at auction by a living artist at the time of sale. It remains a record achievement for the artist.
The Book.
Published to coincide with the sale of David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) at Christie’s New York in November 2018, this special publication examines one of Hockney’s most iconic paintings. The three original texts survey Hockney’s relationship with his chief muse, Peter Schlesinger, as well as the artist’s two most celebrated series— his pools and double portraits. Punctuated by the Hockney’s own recollections of the painting’s execution and exclusive film stills from Jack Hazan’s documentary A Bigger Splash, this beautifully designed publication features mylar pages throughout and is packaged in a blue Lucite box — elegantly evoking the beautifully abstracted surfaces of Hockney’s iconic pools.
“I must admit I loved working on that picture, working with such intensity; it was marvelous doing it, really thrilling.”
— David Hockney