Beverly Hills Housewife

From ECONOMIST.COM

Anyone strolling down Duke Street in London’s St James’s last week came across a delightful coup de théâtre. Through the broad glass windows of Christie’s Duke Street gallery could be seen a large painting, instantly recognisable as the work of David Hockney, Britain’s most popular artist—both as a painter and as a man. It showed a woman in a pink dress standing in the middle of a room in a modern home that looked as if it was in Los Angeles. On a dull day in London, Mr Hockney’s painting celebrated California’s light and prosperity.

The painting is titled “Beverly Hills Housewife” (pictured), and it dates from 1966-67 when Mr Hockney had exchanged the dour Yorkshire life and light for its polar opposite in California. The painting belonged to its subject; the housewife was Betty Freeman, a notable patron of new art and music. She died early in January and her collection is being auctioned in May. Christie’s was showing the painting in London before it is displayed in New York.

Mr Hockney’s paintings of sunlight on swimming pools have proved to be his most popular and expensive works. The highest price for a Hockney at auction so far is for “The Splash”, from 1966, which fetched £2.6m ($5.4m) in 2006.

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