The 1980s-ea painting will lead Philips’ 20th Century and Contemporary Art Evening Sale taking place in December
Phillips auction house has announced its plans to offer David Hockney’s 1980 masterpiece Nicolas Canyon at its 20th Century and Contemporary Art Evening Sale in December. The bold, expressive canvas is said to be emblematic of the artist’s ability to place the past and present in tandem with each other.
“Nichols Canyon is one of Hockney’s greatest masterpieces—and unequivocally the most important landscape by the artist in private hands. Marking the beginning of his decades-long panoramic landscapes series, it was one of only two monumental works Hockney executed following his return to painting from a brief hiatus spent exploring photography in the 1970s; the other, Mulholland Drive: The Road to the Studio, is held in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,” Phillips said in a statement.
The seven-by-five foot canvas was created shortly after Hockney moved to Los Angeles and is considered to be the most significant Hockney work to appear in auction. Previous works include Canyon Painting (1978), which fetched US$3 million in November 2014 and Santa Monica Boulevard (1978), which ended up selling for US$2.8 million this past October.
“The moment you live up here, you get a different view of Los Angeles. First of all these wiggly lines seem to enter your life, and they entered the paintings,” Hockney said of the piece. “I began Nicholas Canyon. I took a large canvas and drew a wiggly line down the middle which is what the roads seem to be. I was living up the hills and painting in my studio down the hills, so I was traveling back and forth every day, often two, three, four times a day. I actually felt those wiggly lines.”
The 20th Century and Contemporary Art Evening Sale held by Phillips will start on December 7. The work is set to go on view at Phillips in London this week before making future appearances in Hong Kong and New York at a later date. To find out more information or to register to vote, be sure to visit the official Phillips website.
See also: Banksy's Show Me The Monet To Lead Sotheby's Livestream Auction