Pick of the week

David Hockney’s cats have become prone to wandering. Last October, my old friend Ray Perman (who knows as much about the auction business as anyone) told me the tale of the first one: ‘In 1955, Peter Richards and his wife owned a cottage —and a black-and-white cat—alongside the A1 in Bedfordshire. One rainy Sunday afternoon, they were surprised to see two young men who had unsuccessfully sought shelter under their eaves during a rainstorm. Offering them refuge, Mrs Richards kindly made tea and dried their clothes. These young men turned out to be David Hockney and Norman Stevens, both then students at Bradford College of Art, who frequently hitchhiked down the Great North Road to visit London exhibitions. Mr Hockney maintained a friendship with the Richards and later gave them a black-andwhite ceramic cat in thanks for their kindness that wet afternoon. Over the years, he also sent Mr and Mrs Richards a print and a handmade Christmas card.’

Mr Hockney then made four or five more clay cats in different colourways, which were all given as thank yous or wedding presents. One fetched £40,000 (hammer) at Bonhams in 2011 and another £94,000 at Christie’s last June. Mr and Mrs Richards later moved to Essex and wanted theirs (above) to be sold locally, so, in October, it and their other mementos went up at Stacey’s of Rayleigh, where it took £111,875 (including 25% VAT on the commission).

In the latest Christie’s sales, another Hockney cat turned up, an about 15in-long, blue-andwhite one which had been given to a lucky friend in Bradford, West Yorkshire. This made a little more: £119,700.