Christie’s London has announced that David Hockney’s monumental print 'Autour de la maison, été' (2019) will headline its spring prints season. Measuring nearly 40 feet long and printed on a single sheet of paper, the work depicts the artist’s Normandy estate with a high estimate of £300,000 ($400,000). The piece is noted for its cinematic scale and narrative structure, drawing direct inspiration from the medieval Bayeux Tapestry.
The sale highlights the robust performance of the prints and multiples market, which saw Christie’s generate over $70 million in global sales last year. By timing the auction alongside a new Hockney exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery and the high-profile debate surrounding the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum, Christie's is capitalizing on the artist's current cultural ubiquity and the growing collector appetite for large-scale contemporary editions.