David Hockney's 'California' Leads Christie's London Auctions

Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips will hold their modern and contemporary art auctions in London from March 6 to 7, 2024. Christie's leads with a Monet painting, 'Matinée sur la Seine, temps net' (1897), estimated at £12-18 million, returning to market after 45 years. David Hockney's 'California' (1965), the largest of his early pool paintings, is estimated at £16 million. Francis Bacon's 'Landscape near Malabata, Tangier' (1963), once owned by Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal, is estimated at £15-20 million. René Magritte's 'L'ami intime' (1958), from the Gilbert and Lena Kaplan Collection, is estimated at £30-50 million. Sotheby's opens on March 6 with 'The Now' auction featuring Jadé Fadojutimi's 'A Sheltered Overthought' (2019) at £400,000-600,000, followed by a Paul Signac painting. Phillips holds its sale on March 7, led by Andy Warhol's portrait of Princess Diana (1982) and works by Adrian Ghenie, Frank Auerbach, and Cecily Brown. The auctions will test market direction after 2023's sales slowdown and ongoing geopolitical tensions.