The legendary artist gave the uncommon ceramic mannequin to Peter Richards and his spouse after they supplied him and a pal sanctuary from dangerous climate in 1955.
The couple owned a cottage alongside the A1 in Bedfordshire, and on a wet Sunday afternoon, they noticed two young males sheltering below their eaves.
They gave the drenched lads refuge whereas making them tea and drying their soaked garments.
Later, they discovered the pair had been Hockney and Norman Stevens, from Bradford College of Art, who had been hitchhiking to London to go to exhibitions.
Hockney, who grew to become one among Britain’s most celebrated artists, went on to have a long-lasting friendship with the Richards.
And as a reward for his or her kindness on that moist afternoon, he gifted them the ceramic black and white cat, which regarded much like their pet moggy on the time.
When the decoration went below the hammer this week, it shattered the earlier sale report of £100,000 set by the same Hockney sculpture in June.
Mark Stacey, from Stacey’s Auctioneers and Valuers, which bought the merchandise, mentioned the distinctive piece had “exceeded all expectations”.
A letter from David Hockney to Wendy and Peter Richards, that includes sketches of the ceramic cat and a dish he gifted them (Image: Stacey’s Auctioneers and Valuers)
He mentioned: “This was a incredible end result for the seller who was current within the room and was auctioning the Hockney objects to learn his grandchildren.
“The cat exceeded all expectations and £111,875 is a report for a Hockney ceramic cat, superseding the earlier worth achieved at Christie’s in June of this yr.
“There was each on-line and phone bidding from bidders within the UK and globally, with it lastly being bought to an nameless UK purchaser.”
David Hockney
The sculpture – which is believed to be Hockney’s first ceramic creation – is one among six cats produced by the artist in 1955 whereas nonetheless at artwork faculty
It measures 34.5cm by 40cm by 15.5cm and demonstrates his unimaginable talent with three-dimensional kinds.
The piece additionally got here with drawings and plans for the piece, together with letters and playing cards despatched to the Richards by the artist over the years.
Hockney has lengthy had a fascination with cats and so they have been a big motif in a few of his main works.
But this ceramic cat is black and white and has a special colouring in comparison with the opposite 5 in existence.
