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A great double portrait by David Hockney at Christie’s

David Hockney: ‘Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott’

David Hockney: ‘Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott’

A double portrait by Hockney at Christie’s David Hockney’s 1969 Double Portrait ‘Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott’ will lead Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction, London, 6 March 2019.]]>

January 15th, 2019. Source: Christie’s

‘It’s a watershed painting’, said Geldzahler. ‘In this picture David finally gave up the idea of being a “modern artist” and decided, instead, to be the best artist he could be’ (H. Geldzahler, quoted in P. Richard, ‘The Painter and His Subject’, The Washington Post, 30 March 1979, p. 8).

On 6 March 2019, Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction will be led by David Hockney’s intimate yet monumentally-scaled 1969 portrait of Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott, from the collection of Barney A. Ebsworth (estimate in excess of £30 million). Standing among Hockney’s most celebrated works, Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott will mark a fitting conclusion to the collection of Barney A. Ebsworth, which has thus far achieved a running total of $323,508,250. The painting will be unveiled and on view in New York from 8 to 12 February before going on view in London from 2 to 6 March 2019. The Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction is a key part of “20th Century at Christie’s”, a season of sales taking place in London from 22 February to 7 March 2019.

Marc Porter, Chairman, Christie’s Americas, remarked: “It is an honour to present Hockney’s double portrait of Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott, which is not only an extraordinary example from the artist’s most celebrated series, it is also a poignant representation of one of the 20th century’s greatest curators.

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A great double portrait by David Hockney at Christie’s