David Hockney’s ‘Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime’ Could Fetch $11.5 Million

David Hockney’s painting Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime will be auctioned in October at Christie’s in London, with an estimate of between £7 million and £10 million (US$8.1 million and US$11.5 million).

Starting Saturday, the 1969 painting will be exhibited, along with some US$440 million-worth artworks, by Christie’s during the inaugural Frieze Seoul art fair in Seoul, South Korea.

The painting is one of four paintings Hockney created based on photographs taken during a trip to France with his then partner, Peter Schlesinger, an American artist and model, in autumn 1968. It depicts a sublime view in the South of France, near Saint Tropez.

“This exquisite scene captures the vibrant hues that the sun casts as it rises over the glistening water of the French Riviera,” Katharine Arnold, head of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s Europe, said in a statement. The painting “demonstrates Hockney’s masterful ability to translate the multifaceted qualities of water to canvas.”

Hockney, 85, is one of the most commercially successful living artists in the world. A total of 511 Hockney works were sold in 2020—the latest year from which data is available—at public auctions with a total value of US$132 million, making him the top-selling living artist.

A prolific artist, Hockney is best known for his swimming pool series. His 1972 work, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), sold in November 2018 at Christie’s in New York for US$90.3 million, a then-record for any artwork by a living artist sold at auction.

While the 1972 masterwork was created as Hockney was dealing with the heartbreak after his relationship with Schlesinger ended, Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime preceded that and was painted as their relationship was blossoming. From the painting, “we see the artist expressing his feelings of deep contentment and ease,” Arnold said.

Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime last sold at auction in 1988 and has not been seen in public for more than 34 years, according to Christie’s, which will offer it as a highlight of its 20th and 21st-century art sale on Oct. 13 in London.

The painting will travel to Hong Kong from Seoul for a public exhibition from Sept. 14 to 16, then to New York from Sept. 24 to 28 before returning to London for viewing from Oct. 6 to 13.

China’s economic recovery isn’t gaining the momentum money managers are awaiting.

Data from China Beige Book show that the economic green shoots glimpsed in August didn’t sprout further in September. Job growth and consumer spending faltered, while orders for exports came in at the lowest level since March, according to a monthly flash survey of more than 1,300 companies the independent research firm released Thursday evening.

Consumers’ initial revenge spending after Covid restrictions eased could be waning, the results indicate, with the biggest pullbacks in food and luxury items. While travel remains a bright spot ahead of the country’s Mid-Autumn Festival, hospitality firms and chain restaurants saw a sharp decline in sales, according to the survey.

And although policy makers have shown their willingness to stabilise the property market, the data showed another month of slower sales and lower prices in both the residential and commercial sectors.

Even more troubling are the continued problems at Evergrande Group, which has scuttled a plan to restructure itself, raising the risk of a liquidation that could further destabilise the property market and hit confidence about the economy. The embattled developer said it was notified that the company’s chairman Hui Ka Yan, who is under police watch, is suspected of committing criminal offences.

Nicole Kornitzer, who manages the $750 million Buffalo International Fund (ticker: BUIIX), worries about a “recession of expectations” as confidence continues to take a hit, discouraging people and businesses from spending. Kornitzer has only a fraction of the fund’s assets in China at the moment.

Before allocating more to China, Kornitzer said, she needs to see at least a couple quarters of improvement in spending, with consumption broadening beyond travel and dining out. Signs of stabilisation in the housing market would be encouraging as well, she said.

She isn’t alone in her concern about spending. Vivian Lin Thurston, manager for William Blair’s emerging markets and China strategies, said confidence among both consumers and small- and medium-enterprises is still suffering.

“Everyone is still out and about but they don’t buy as much or buy lower-priced goods so retail sales aren’t recovering as strongly and lower-income consumers are still under pressure because their employment and income aren’t back to pre-COVID levels,” said Thurston, who just returned from a visit to China.

“A lot of small- and medium- enterprises are struggling to stay afloat and are definitely taking a wait-and-see approach on whether they can expand. A lot went out of business during Covid and aren’t back yet. So far the stimulus measures have been anemic.”

Beijing needs to do more, especially to stabilise the property sector, Thurston said. The view on the ground is that more help could come in the fourth quarter—or once the Federal Reserve is done raising rates.

The fact that the Fed is raising rates while Beijing is cutting them is already putting pressure on the renminbi. If policy makers in China wait until the Fed is done, that would alleviate one source of pressure before their fiscal stimulus adds its own.