Art enthusiasts are getting in for a special treat as one of David Hockey's earliest English landscapes goes on public display after three decades.
The 1965 painting, English Garden, captures a meticulously kept Oxfordshire garden and marks a key turning point in the artist's career.
Set to be auctioned by Sotheby's, the work is widely regarded as an important piece not only in Hockney's development as an artist but also within the broader story of modern British art.
As per The Guardian, the painting is currently being shown at Sotheby's galleries in central London.
At the time he painted it, Hockney had recently finished art school and moved to the United States.
Sotheby’s co-head of contemporary art in London, Tom Edisson said in a statement, noting, “It is a seminal painting. It really lays the foundations for everything that was to come after.”
English Garden was Hockney's first complete and clearly developed painting of an English landscape.
He created it during a period when abstract art was more popular and influential than figurative art which focuses on real and recognizable subjects like landscapes or people.
The painting was first shown publicly at the Kasmin gallery in London in the same year it was created and it was last displayed in a public exhibition in 1970 at the Whitechapel Gallery in London.
After that, it remained in a private ownership and was only seen again when it was sold at auction in 1997.
The painting is set to be auctioned on March 4 and as per the outlet, it is expected to fetch between £2.5 million and £3.5 million.
