David Hockney's First Auction Since Death Leads Phillips London Sale

Phillips London held its modern and contemporary art evening sale on June 26, 2024, amid a European heatwave, achieving £12 million including buyer's premium. The top lot was David Hockney's 'The Only One with Waves' (1991), sold for £2.4 million—the first Hockney work to appear at auction since the artist's death on June 11. The sale had a pre-sale estimate of £9.34–13.4 million; hammer total reached £9.3 million. Of 90 lots, 76 sold (84% sell-through rate). Yayoi Kusama's 'INFINITY-NETS (MAE)' (2013) exceeded its high estimate, selling for £1.5 million. Kusama appeared twice among the top ten results. Other notable sales included works by Jean Dubuffet, Donald Judd, Hsiao Chin, and Jadé Fadojutimi. A painting by Maqbool Fida Husain sold for £412,800—nearly three times its estimate—highlighting strong demand for South Asian art, which achieved a 100% sell-through rate. Andrew Cranston set a new auction record with 'Meditation in a Tenement' (2023), surpassing its low estimate. Phillips vice president Olivia Thornton noted the results reflect broad international demand across periods and geographies, emphasizing quality, historical relevance, and diversity of origins.