The blind is a unique piece of Hockney fax art. Stuck to the back of it are five works which David Hockney faxed from his home in Los Angeles to his sister Margaret Hockney in Bridlington, East Yorkshire in May, June and July 1989. They include three single sheet pictures and two larger ones which were faxed in 16 parts. As the sheets came through – each one was marked DH At The Beach – Margaret stuck them to the blind at her kitchen window. They were left behind when Margaret sold her house in November 1991 to chiropodist Amanda Gresham. Miss Gresham had never heard of Hockney and was about to throw the blind out when a neighbour told her about his reputation.
Saleroom director Robert Horne told the Antiques Trade Gazette: “One point I should make is it is not the normal sort of fax paper which fades over time, it is very high quality and there there has been no degeneration of the images over the past decade.”
Art experts valued the blind at anything between £2000-50,000 – which shows how difficult it is to rate – but the strong family provenance enticed a number of collectors to the rooms for the October 12 and 13 sale. Private buyer Peter Nelson bought the blind and plans to show them in a new gallery of modern art in his home town of Keswick.
Fax art makes its mark
UK: BRIGG auctioneers DDM hit the headlines after selling a household vinyl blind decorated with art work by David Hockney for £11,000 (plus 10 per cent premium).
