Who Owns a David Hockney?

Graham Norton, the Irish comedian and television presenter, placed two high-end homes on the market in May 2025 - one in London and the other in New York. In his Manhattan residence, a notable detail catches the eye: above the television in the living room hangs Gregory in the Pool (Paper Pool 4) by David Hockney. Hockney created the Paper Pools series during an extended visit to master printmaker Kenneth Tyler’s home in New York, in 1978. Stranded in the city after misplacing his driver's licence, Hockney embraced the opportunity to experiment with a novel medium: richly pigmented paper pulp. Among the most personal works from this period is Gregory in the Pool, one of only three pieces in the series to include a human figure. Depicting his longtime companion Gregory Evans immersed in water, the composition fuses sensuality with spontaneity. “I didn’t like doing everything without figures,” Hockney has said of the work. “So I added Gregory in the pool... I kneaded the colours with my fingers, which I thought was nice because it’s nice to do that to flesh.” Norton’s choice to display this intimate work in such a prominent spot suggests a personal connection to Hockney’s tender, sunlit world. Like many collectors drawn to Hockney, Norton seems to value the artist’s ability to distil intimacy, memory, and light into something both modern and timeless.

Sir Elton John, the legendary British musician, has long been known for his formidable art collection, which includes works by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and David Hockney. His admiration for Hockney is well documented, with the singer remarking that he surrounds himself with the work of artists who have changed how he sees the world, Hockney chief among them. Though the details of his holdings remain private, it is known that John’s collection includes pieces that mirror John’s own love of colour, theatricality, and the sensuality of form.

American entertainment mogul David Geffen is one of Hockney’s most prominent patrons. In 2020, Geffen reacquired The Splash (1967), one of the artist’s most iconic images, at Sotheby’s London for nearly $30 million. It marked the return of a painting he had previously owned decades earlier, reinforcing both the depth of his collecting and the enduring personal significance of Hockney’s imagery. Known for his acquisition of modern masters, Geffen’s involvement in the Hockney market suggests a long-standing belief in the artist’s centrality to postwar art history.

Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau is a prominent figure among Hockney’s collectors. Known for his bold spending and high-profile acquisitions, Lau made headlines in 2006 when he purchased an Andy Warhol Mao portrait for $17.4 million. The following year, he added Paul Gauguin’s 1892 painting Te Poipoi to his collection for $39.2 million. In 2020, Lau sold Hockney’s The Splash for £23.1 million - a landmark work now regarded as one of the artist’s most coveted. Although much of Lau’s collection remains out of public view, its total value is estimated at around $1 billion.

British billionaire David Ross, co-founder of The Carphone Warehouse, made headlines in 2020 when he purchased Portrait of Sir David Webster (1971) at Christie’s for £12.8 million. The portrait, a dignified and quietly expressive image of the former Royal Opera House chief, was acquired with the express purpose of being returned to the institution it depicts. Ross’s decision to immediately loan the work back to the Opera House - and later the National Portrait Gallery - demonstrates an alignment of personal collecting and public cultural stewardship. Ross is a significant figure in British philanthropy, and his acquisition of Hockney’s work underscores the growing role of private collectors in shaping public access to modern art.

Joe Lewis, the British currency trader and former owner of Tottenham Hotspur, previously owned Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) - the painting that set a new auction record for a living artist in 2018, selling for $90.3 million. Originally part of David Geffen’s collection, the work was sold to Lewis in 1995 for an undisclosed sum. In addition to Hockney, Lewis has also acquired major works by artists such as Lucian Freud, Pablo Picasso, and Francis Bacon.

Before their separation, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and his former wife, art patron Dasha Zhukova, amassed one of the most enviable private collections in the world. Records indicate that this collection includes major works by Freud, Bacon, and David Hockney. Though specific paintings have not been named, their inclusion of Hockney affirms his place within the uppermost tier of collectible contemporary artists. Zhukova, co-founder of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, has been instrumental in promoting Hockney and his contemporaries on an international stage.

While most private collectors hope to acquire a handful of Hockneys, American property developer and philanthropist Jordan D. Schnitzer has built a veritable archive. His family foundation owns over 350 works by Hockney, primarily prints, which have been exhibited at major museums across the United States. For Schnitzer, Hockney’s democratic approach to printmaking - embracing everything from etching and lithography to office copiers and iPads - reflects a deep curiosity about how images are made and experienced beyond the traditional boundaries of painting.

One of the most comprehensive showcases of this practice, David Hockney: Perspective Should Be Reversed, opens at the Grand Rapids Art Museum May 31, 2025. Organised by the Honolulu Museum of Art in partnership with the Schnitzer Family Foundation, the exhibition brings together over 145 works from 1954 to 2022, making it the largest survey of Hockney’s prints to date. Divided thematically, the show highlights the oppositions that run through his work: tradition and innovation, interior and exterior, comedy and tenderness, offering a vivid portrait of Hockney’s six-decade career in print. Through loans like these, Schnitzer ensures that Hockney’s art remains not only collected but continually reimagined by new audiences.