Christie’s 20th/21st Century Evening Sale returns to London next month with a rare opportunity to acquire a David Hockney masterpiece.
Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime (1969), a painting created between the artist’s Californian swimming pool paintings and the pioneering ‘naturalistic’ double portraits, was last seen at auction in New York in 1988. It returns to the sale room, this time in London, with an estimate of £7,000,000 – £10,000,000.
The painting is one of four paintings based on photographs taken during a trip to France with Hockney’s then partner, Peter Schlesinger, in autumn 1968. It was at this time that the pair first spent time in the home of the film director, Tony Richardson, near Saint Tropez. They became regular guests at the lavish parties Richardson hosted at Le Nid du Duc, located in the mountains outside Le Garde-Freinet.
Hockney had returned to London in 1968 having spent four years in California, and the South of France became an instant draw for him and Schlesinger, with its sparkling waters and endless summers. It would come to play a central role in their relationship.
Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime (1969) is described by Christie’s as “a sublime tribute to the South of France, rendered in exquisite detail”. It was originally unveiled in London as part of Hockney’s retrospective at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1970 and, ahead of its sale in London next month, Christie’s have arranged a global tour, showing the painting in Seoul, Hong Kong and, currently, New York.
Katharine Arnold, Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s Europe, said:
“We are delighted to present a seminal painting by one of Britain’s leading artists as a highlight of the Frieze Week auction programme at Christie’s.”
“In David Hockney’s Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime we see the artist expressing his feelings of deep contentment and ease as his relationship with Peter Schlesinger was blossoming. This exquisite scene captures the vibrant hues that the sun casts as it rises over the glistening water of the French Riviera. Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime demonstrates Hockney’s masterful ability to translate the multifaceted qualities of water to canvas, something that he had recently achieved to poetic effect in his Californian swimming pool paintings. The painting also precedes Hockney’s masterpiece Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), created as the artist came to terms with the heartbreak he endured at the end of the relationship with Peter Schlesinger. The work’s spectacular sweeping reflection seems to echo the gestural drama of his 1967 masterpiece A Bigger Splash (Tate, London).”
The 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale takes place at Christie’s on London’s King Street on 13 October 2022. The pre-sale exhibition opens there on 6 October.
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Image: DAVID HOCKNEY (B. 1937), Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime, signed and dated ‘David Hockney 1969’ (on the reverse), acrylic on canvas, 48⅛ x 60⅛in. (122.1 x 152.6cm.). Painted in 1969. £7,000,000-10,000,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2022