David Hockney's The Only One with Waves Sells for $3.2 Million at Phillips London Auction

David Hockney's painting The Only One with Waves (1991) sold for £2.4 million ($3.2 million) on Friday at Phillips London’s auction of modern and contemporary art. This sale marked the first major work by Hockney to be auctioned following his death on June 11, just before his 89th birthday.

Highlights from the Phillips London Auction

The auction brought in a total of £12 million ($15.8 million) against an estimate of £9.34–£13.4 million ($12.4–$17.7 million). The sell-through rate was an impressive 84 percent, with 76 of the 90 lots sold. The only other piece to surpass the £1 million mark was Yayoi Kusama’s acrylic painting INFINITY-NETS (MAE), which fetched £1.5 million ($2 million), exceeding its high estimate of £1.2 million ($1.6 million).

Among the other notable sales was Maqbool Fida Husain's untitled oil painting from the 1970s, which sold for £412,800 ($545,864), nearly tripling its estimate of £150,000 ($198,326).

Art Market Insights

Olivia Thornton, deputy chairwoman for modern and contemporary art in Europe, remarked, “Today’s sale demonstrates the depth and breadth of demand across modern, post-war and contemporary art.” She noted that there was robust international interest, particularly in the South Asian category, which achieved a 100% sell-through rate.

Thornton emphasized the significance of the auction results, stating, “The results are a clear reflection of a global collecting audience with an unwavering appetite for quality and historical significance across genres and geographies.”