LONDON.- Seminal pop art painting "The Splash" by David Hockey sold for £23.1 million ($29.8 million) at a London auction on Tuesday, the third highest price paid for a work by the British artist.

"The Splash", which was painted in 1966, depicts the moment just after a diver has broken the surface of a swimming pool, capturing the fantasy Californian lifestyle. 

"Not only is this a landmark work within David Hockney's oeuvre, it's an icon of Pop that defined an era and also gave visual identity to LA," said Emma Baker, head of the contemporary art sale at London's Sotheby's auction house.

Sotheby's also called the work "a quintessential example of Hockney's lifelong fascination with the texture, appearance and depth of water".

The price, bid by an unknown buyer, is nearly eight times that achieved when the work last sold at auction for £2.9 million in 2006.

Lot 16. David Hockney (B. 1937), The Splash,  signed, titled and dated 1966 on the reverse, acrylic on canvas, 183 cm by 183 cm. 72 by 72 in. Estimate 20,000,000 — 30,000,000 GBP. Lot sold 24,117,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Yorkshire-born Hockney's "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" sold for over $90 million in New York in 2018, an auction record at the time for a work by a living artist.

The same year, his "Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica" sold for $28.5 million. 

NOTABLE MOMENTS
Fresh to auction, ADRIAN GHENIE’S The Arrival soared over the high estimate to achieve £4,184,500 / $5,401,353 / €4,962,380 (est. £2.5-3.5 million). The top 11 prices for the artist have been set since 2016.

Lot 5. Adrian Ghenie (B. 1977), The Arrival,signed and dated 2014 on the reverse, oil on canvas,210 by 165 cm. 82 5/8 by 65 in. Estimate 2,500,000 — 3,500,000 GBP. Lot sold 4,184,500 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

In the year of his 100th birthday, WAYNE THIEBAUD’S Californian Fruit Stand achieved a juicy £1,815,000 / $2,342,802 / €2,152,401 (est. £800,000-1,200,000). Having remained in the same European collection since the 1960s, the auction follows the artist’s record-breaking sale at Sotheby’s New York last November.

Lot 5. Wayne Thiebaud (B. 1920), Fruit Stand, signed and dated 1963; signed, titled and dated 1963 on the stretcher, oil on canvas, 43 by 61.2 cm. 16 7/8 by 24 in. Estimate 800,000 — 1,200,000 GBP. Lot sold 1,815,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

In its auction debut, a new world RECORD was set for A.R. PENCK’S Welt des Adlers I (World of the Eagle I) when it sold for £531,000 / $685,415 / €629,711 (est. £300,000-500,000). The work was executed in 1981 at a pivotal moment in Penck’s career following his exodus from East Germany to West in August 1980. The previous record for the artist was £369,000 / $481,100 set at Phillips London in October 2017.

Lot 7. A.R. Penck (1939 - 2017), Welt des Adlers I (World of the Eagle I), dispersion on canvas, 280 by 250 cm. 110 1/4 by 98 1/2 in. Executed in 1981. Estimate 300,000 — 500,000 GBP. Lot sold 531,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

BANKSY’S Vote to Love more than doubled its pre-sale estimate when the price soared to £1,155,000 / $1,490,874 / €1,369,709 (est. £400,000-600,000). The work was prominently displayed in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in 2018 with a price tag of £350 million – a reference to the Vote Leave bus which claimed Brexit would save the NHS £350 million per week. 

Lot 7. Banksy (B. 1974), Vote to Love, signed and dated 18 on the reverse, spray paint on UKIP placard mounted on board, 117 by 116.5 by 8.5 cm. 46 by 45 7/8 by 3 1/4 in. Estimate 400,000-600,000 GBP. Lot sold 1,155,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

JEAN DUBUFFET’S Episode champêtre doubled the low estimate to sell for £1,815,000 / $2,342,802 / €2,152,401 (est. £900,000-1,200,000). The artist will be the subject of a major retrospective at the Barbican from September 2020 to January 2021, sponsored by Sotheby’s.

Lot 5. Jean Dubuffet (1901 - 1985), Episode champêtre, signed with the artist’s initials and dated 74; signed, titled and dated 74 on the reverse, vinyl on canvas, 195 by 130 cm. 76 7/8 by 51 in. Estimate 900,000 — 1,200,000 GBP. Lot sold 1,815,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

FIVE LOTS OVER £5 MILLION:
JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT’S Rubber sold for £7,487,600 / $9,664,994 / €8,879,512 (est. £6-8 million) – 23 times the price achieved for the work when it sold for €420,500 at Sotheby’s New York in 1988. 

Lot 8. Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 - 1988), Rubber, titled; signed, titled and dated '85 on the reverse, acrylic, oil stick and collage on canvas, 218.5 by 173 cm. 86 by 68 in. Estimate 6,000,000 — 8,000,000 GBP. Lot sold 7,487,600 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

FRANCIS BACON’S Turning Figure, in the same collection for more than 30 years, sold for £7,032,000 / $9,076,906 / €8,339,218 (est. £6-8 million) in its auction debut.

Lot 23. Francis Bacon (1909 - 1992), Turning Figure, oil on canvas, 198 by 147.5 cm. 78 by 58 in.. Executed in 1963. Estimate 6,000,000 — 8,000,000 GBP. Lot sold 7,032,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

An exemplar of CHRISTOPHER WOOL’S feted series of abstract monochrome paintings, Untitled achieved £6,156,809 / $7,942,283 / €7,326,602 (est. £5.5-6.5 million).

Lot 10. Christopher Wool (B. 1955), Untitled, signed, dated 2007 and numbered P559 on the reverse, enamel on linen, 274.3 by 274.3 cm. 108 by 108 in. Estimate 5,500,000 — 6,500,000 GBP. Lot sold 6,348,600 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

In its auction debut, YVES KLEIN’S Anthropometry, (ANT 132) realised £6,177,750 / $7,969,297 / €7,351,522 (est. £6-8 million). The painting is the first Anthropometry work to appear at auction that features two full body figures and has remained in one family collection for 35 years.

Lot 21. Yves Klein (1928 - 1962), Anthropometry, (ANT 132), dry pigment and synthetic resin on paper laid down on canvas, 150 by 96 cm. 59 1/8 by 37 3/4 in. Executed in 1960. Estimate 6,000,000 — 8,000,000 GBP. Lot sold 6,348,600 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

FRESH FACES
Opening the sale with a bang, JULIE CURTISS’ enchanting Witch achieved £162,500 / $209,755/ €192,708 (est. £50,000-70,000), after eight determined bidders competed for the work – tripling the low estimate. Works by Curtiss’ first appeared at auction in May 2019. Her record at auction has since been broken twice. 

Lot 1. Julie Curtiss (B. 1982), Witch , signed, titled and dated 2017 on the reverse, oil and acrylic on canvas, 45.7 by 35.5 cm. 18 by 14 in. Estimate 50,000-70,000 GBP. Lot sold 162,500 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

After seeing competition from five bidders, EDDIE MARTINEZ’S Empirical Mind State soared to £615,000 / $793,842 / €729,326 (est. £100,000-150,000) – six times the low estimate. Tonight’s sale marked the first time a work by Martinez has appeared in an evening sale at Sotheby’s London. The top 20 prices for the artist at auction were all set in 2019.

Lot 45. Eddie Martinez (B. 1977), Empirical Mind State , signed and dated 09; signed with the artist's initials and titled on the reverse; signed on the stretcher, oil and spray paint on canvas , 182.8 by 274.3 cm. 72 by 108 in. Estimate 100,000-150,000 GBP. Lot sold 615,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.