David Hockney painting pictured ahead of first public sale in more than 30 years

The piece could sell for as much as £10 million.

Art handlers holding David Hockney’s, Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime, during a photo call for highlights from Christie’s forthcoming evening sales, their 20th/21st Century and A Place With No Name: Works from the Sina Jina Collection sales, at Christie’s in London (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)

Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime by influential British artist David Hockney has gone on display in London ahead of its first public sale in more than 30 years.

Depicting a view of the sun shining over the French Riviera, the 1969 work is said to be a tribute to the artist’s emotional state at the height of his relationship with Peter Schlesinger and anticipates some of his greatest creations.

The piece, which has an estimate of £7 million to £10 million, will highlight Christie’s 20th and 21st Century sale in London on October 13.

Also included in the sale are pieces by British artists Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Tracey Emin, and international contemporary names including Sarah Ball, Rashid Johnson, Christina Quarles and Adrian Ghenie.

Painting 1990 by Bacon is expected to sell for between £7 million and £9 million, while Like A Cloud Of Blood by Emin, from this year, has an estimate of between £500,000 and £700,000.

Also included in the sale is (Study for Clouds (Green-blue) by German visual artist Gerhard Richter, which has an estimated sale price of between £6 million and £8 million.

Other works to go on display ahead of the sale include Peter Doig’s Buffalo Station, AR Penck’s Ubergang and Freud’s Seaside Garden.

A second evening sale that day, A Place With No Name: Works from the Sina Jina Collection, features the largest collection of contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora to be offered to the market to date, the auction house said.

The two evening sales will form the focal point of Christie’s Frieze Week programme and will take place on October 13.