A David Hockney painting has broken the record for the most expensive work from a living artist sold at auction.
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) sold for $US90.3 million ($124.35 million) at Christie's auction house in New York on Thursday.
The previous record was held by Jeff Koons' Balloon Dog, which sold for $US58.4 million ($80.2 million) in 2013.
Hockney began work on the painting when he was inspired by the random placement of two photos on his studio floor.
"One was of a figure swimming underwater and therefore quite distorted … the other was a boy gazing at something on the ground," Hockney said.
"The idea of painting two figures in different styles appealed so much that I began the painting immediately."
The initial work was painted and painted over, with Hockney returning to the concept a year afterwards in 1972.
He completed the painting after working as much as 18 hours a day for two weeks, with The Week reporting he finished it the night before he had to send it off to a New York exhibition.
Hockney, aged 81, was born in Bradford, England and studied art in London.
His career took off after he moved to Los Angeles in the 60s.
In 2011, he was named Britain's most influential artist in a poll of 1,000 UK sculptors and painters.
