David Hockney's 'The Splash' sells for $29.8 million
A David Hockney painting titled "The Splash," a modern masterpiece that holds a spot among the 20th century's most iconic pop art images, sold for more than £23.1 million ($29.8 million) at an auction in London Tuesday evening.
According to Sotheby's, the auction house behind the sale, it is the third-highest price ever paid for a work by the 82-year-old British painter, who was briefly the world's most expensive living artist.
The painting depicts a sun-drenched California swimming pool, where an unseen person has just dived in, creating a splash. It is part of a series of three works, all painted in Los Angeles between 1966 and 1967, that are all similar in composition but different in size.
The largest, "A Bigger Splash," measures 96 by 95 inches and has been part of the collection at London's Tate Britain gallery since 1981. The smallest, "A Little Splash" is currently in a private collection. The version sold by Sotheby's on Tuesday, simply titled "The Splash," sits in the middle at 72 by 72 inches.
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/david-hockney-the-splash-auction/index.html