The property is arranged over two storeys - one of the few in the development like this
(Picture: Russell Simpson)A Grade II-listed Victorian house next door to British artist David Hockney’s home and studios has gone on the market for £4.25 million.
The three-bedroom property is part of a gated community of 12 houses and artists’ studios in Kensington, where Hockney owns three studios.
Hockney, now 85, has lived and worked at the address for more than 30 years. Considered to be one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century, he is famous for his contribution to the pop art movement of the 1960s.
In 2018, his 1972 Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) sold at Christie’s for $90 million (then £70 million), making it the most expensive artwork by a living artist to be sold at auction at the time.
This month, Hockney’s 1968-9 painting, Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime, has gone on display in London ahead of its first public sale in more than 30 years. It is estimated to be worth £7 to £10 million.
In the 1980s, Hockney produced a collection of work dedicated to his Kensington home showcasing its colourful interiors.
Since then, he has campaigned for the preservation of the historic studios in the face of building plans, arguing in 2017 that they “have been at the centre of creativity for London artists for more than a century”.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the studios were used by Herbert James Draper, Byam Shaw, Donald Gilbert, among many other painters, sculptors, designers, and photographers, who were drawn to the double-height buildings and large windows which brought in natural light.
Pope John Paul II even visited the house in 1982, which is commemorated with a restored engraved brick.
Covering 1,664 square feet, the house has three bedrooms, three reception rooms, two bathrooms, and a loft, arranged over two storeys.
As well as a private garden, it has access to a communal garden, shared with the other members of the studios.
Unlike most of the other buildings in the development, the house has a Grade II-listing externally, but no internal listing. “You can easily adapt the space to suit the way you want to live in it,” says Hermione Russell, sales negotiator at Russell Simpson.
According to Russell, one of the property’s main draws is its seclusion, being removed from the main road.
“It’s set back from everything. You’re your own small community with a very small collection of houses, and it’s very discreet. You wouldn’t know that it necessarily existed… In a way, it’s like being in the countryside.”
The property’s current owners are looking to upsize, to accommodate their growing family.
The house’s effective use of space means that it is well-suited to a range of buyers, argues Russell, from people looking to downsize, to young professionals wanting a central location, to buyers looking for a ‘lock up and leave’ London base.
Like Hockney, most residents have lived there long-term which, says Russell, has fostered a strong sense of community.
“They don’t trade often, which is a good sign that you’ve got a nice community. People love living there.”
