One of David Hockney's most significant and valuable paintings is set to make waves at Christie's auction house next month, with estimates placing its worth at approximately $60 million. The 1968 double portrait of renowned author Christopher Isherwood and his partner, artist Don Bachardy, represents a groundbreaking moment in art history when depicting gay domesticity was considered radical.
The painting's journey to auction began after a retrospective of Hockney's work concluded at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris last month. A private European collector who had loaned the exhibition this masterpiece decided it was time to part with the historically significant artwork. The piece will serve as a lead highlight during Christie's Fall Marquee Week in New York, scheduled for November 17-20.
Christopher Isherwood, whose literary works inspired films including 1972's "Cabaret" and 2009's "A Single Man," was 30 years senior to Bachardy when they first met in 1948. By the time British artist Hockney encountered the couple decades later, they had established a remarkably ordinary domestic life together—something that fascinated the young painter who had been accustomed to hiding his sexuality in the United Kingdom.
"Hockney admired them. He looked to them as a model," explains Katharine Arnold, Christie's vice chairman of 20th/21st century art. "You forget how radical that was for the time—to live as two men together." Arnold emphasizes that the painting reflects "the radical ordinariness of gay domesticity," capturing a relationship that served as an inspiration for Hockney's own openness about his sexual identity.
The creation of the portrait took an entire year to complete, with unique circumstances that influenced its final composition. Isherwood, then 63 years old, posed for Hockney in their Santa Monica home. However, Bachardy, who was 33 at the time, was overseas during the painting sessions, forcing Hockney to work from a photograph for his portion of the portrait. Rather than concealing this unconventional method, Hockney made it apparent in the finished work.
"You can see an anxiousness in Isherwood's expression, the distance," Arnold observes about the painting's emotional depth. "That's part of the human condition—there are always little things left unsaid." This subtle tension adds layers of meaning to what might otherwise appear as a simple domestic scene, reflecting the complexities inherent in any long-term relationship.
The couple's enduring partnership lasted until Isherwood's death in 1986, spanning nearly four decades together. Bachardy, now 91 years old, recently visited the painting while it was displayed at Christie's Beverly Hills gallery last week, providing a poignant connection between the artwork and its living subject.
This upcoming sale represents a significant moment for both Hockney's market and the art world generally. The 87-year-old artist, who now lives in Normandy, last had a work appear at auction in 2018. That painting, "Portrait of an Artist (Pool With Two Figures)," sold at Christie's New York for $90 million, breaking the previous record of $58 million set by Jeff Koons' "Balloon Dog (Orange)" for the most expensive artwork by a living artist sold at auction.
Hockney first arrived in the United States in 1964 and quickly became fascinated with California culture, particularly swimming pools, which he transformed into subjects of high art. His work has consistently explored themes of relationships, domesticity, and the intersection of public and private life, making this portrait of Isherwood and Bachardy particularly representative of his broader artistic concerns.
For Christie's Katharine Arnold, the upcoming sale represents a career milestone. "It's the highlight of my career," she says about the auction. Whether "Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy" will surpass Hockney's existing auction record remains to be seen, but its historical significance and artistic merit position it as one of the most important works to appear at auction this year.
