LONDON (Reuters) - British artist David Hockney made a record for an artist alive, selling for $ 90.3 million at an auction at Christie's Hall Thursday night.
The Portrait of an Artist is one of the leading works of Hockney's Famous Pool Paintings, breaking the record recorded by artist Jeff Koons for his balloon painting, which earned $ 58.4 million in 2013.
Alex Roeder, co-chair of contemporary art and post-war art at Christie's Hall, said in September that the painting by Hockney, now 80 years old, in 1972 is "the Holy Grail of his paintings, a historical look and a marketing look."
He pointed out that it reflects the European and American perspective of an artist who lived in sunny California in the 1960s and lived in the two continents.
Rutter said in an interview that the painting "has all the elements you want in a painting for me," pointing out that the authors refer to the pool painting as a personal portrait of Hockney, although he never confirmed it, and said only that he was fascinated by moving water.
The painting, which did not reveal immediately who bought it, was in the possession of a painting collector.
