Masterworks

Before the California pools and global acclaim, David Hockney was a young artist in London navigating love and identity. 🌹

Having just opened yesterday, May 21st, “In the Mood for Love: Hockney in London” is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on Hockney’s early years, from his time at the Royal College of Art in the early 1960s to just after graduation. 🎓

Curated by Louis Kasmin, the grandson of Hockney’s first dealer John Kasmin, the show features 15 rarely seen works, many of which have not been exhibited together since the 1960s. 👀

This period reveals a different Hockney from the one his most popular works have shown. These works are even more deeply personal, often exploring his sexuality in a Britain where homosexuality was still criminalized. Paintings like ‘The Cha Cha that was Danced in the Early Hours of 24th March 1961’ and ‘Two Friends [in a Cul de Sac]’ capture a raw emotional range, far different from the sleek Pop iconography that would bring him later fame. ⭐️

With guidance from John Kasmin (now 90 years old), who knew Hockney as a fresh-faced graduate, the exhibit offers an intimate look at an artist forming his identity both on canvas and in life. ‘In the Mood for Love: Hockney in London’ opens on May 21st and runs until July 18th 2025, at the Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert Museum.

Would you invest in early art from now-iconic figures? Go to the link in our bio or Masterworks.com to easily diversify into blue-chip art. 🎨
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Spring Auction Week in New York just kicked off on Monday, May 12th, with the first night of sales at Christie’s bringing in $488,947,900. 💰

The sale of Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works, achieved a total of $271,943,100, led by an iconic Mondrian from 1922, as well as René Magritte’s L’empire des lumières (1949) and one of Pablo Picasso’s portraits of Lee Miller (1937). ⭐️

The Mondrian achieved the night’s highest price at $47,560,000. Magritte’s ‘L’empire des lumières’ (1949) and ‘Les droits de l’homme’ (1947-1948), fetched $34,910,000 and $15,935,000. ✨

Afterwards came the 20th Century Evening Sale, which opened with nine works from Anne and Sid Bass’s famous Fort Worth residence. The sales achieved $217,004,800, and the central piece, Mark Rothko’s ‘No. 4 (Two Dominants) [Orange, Plum, Black]’ (1950-1951) hit $37,785,000.

The top lot of the second sale was Monet’s ‘Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule’ (1891), which sold for $42,960,000 after almost five minutes of back-and-forth phone bidding, setting a new auction record for the Poplars series.

Female Surrealist artists also did exceptionally well last night; selling for $2,349,000, ‘Endgame’ (1944) set a new world record for Dorothea Tanning, as did ‘the Revelación’ (also titled El relojero) (1955) from Remedios Varo, which sold for $6,221,000. Not all lots achieved similar eye-catching results, but they still demonstrate the demand masterpieces were able to garner.

Interested in more fine art news, or investing in fine art yourself? Go to the link in our bio or Masterworks.com to easily diversify into blue-chip art. 🎨
Art sales price data is comparative only. Each painting is unique and historical data is not a direct proxy for any specific painting or investment. Data represents whole art not an investment into our offerings which includes fees and expenses. Any comparative images are not currently live offerings and are provided for educational purposes only.

Investing involves risk. Past performance not indicative of future returns. See Important Regulation A Disclosures at masterworks.com/cd, or our pinned story.