David Hockney’s “Beverly Hills Housewife,” painting of Los Angeles arts patron Betty Freeman, sold at auction for a record $7.9 million on Wednesday evening in New York.
David Hockney – Beverly Hills Housewife 1966
The 12-foot double canvas shows Freeman on her patio, flanked by a zebra-print Corbusier lounge chair, and an abstract sculpture. It was featured in a 2006 exhibition of Hockney portraits at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
The previous auction record for a Hockney was $5.35 million for “The Splash,” a 1966 swimming pool painting once owned by movie mogul David Geffen. It sold in London in 2006 at Sotheby’s.
Freeman died in January of pancreatic cancer at the age of 87. “Beverly Hills Housewife” was among 20 artworks from Freeman’s estate up for sale. Christie’s said 18 of the 20 lots sold for a total of $31.6 million, with two works unsold. The sales prices include auction house commissions.
