Hockney print found in charity shop book sells for £41K
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- A signed David Hockney print sold for £41,160 after being discovered inside a donated 1980 copy of his book Paper Pools at a Salvation Army charity shop on Lower Goat Lane in Norwich.
- Jemma Banks, a long-serving Salvation Army volunteer and local artist, found the original signed swimming pool print when she thumbed through the book roughly a year after it was donated over the counter.
- The Salvation Army auctioned the book and print on its eBay site; an anonymous buyer told the charity that acquiring an 'iconic piece' of Hockney's work was 'incredibly special' and said they were delighted proceeds would support the charity.
- Hockney's Paper Pools book contains some of the artist's most celebrated swimming pool artworks, and the Salvation Army called the inclusion of an original signed print an 'exceptionally rare collector's piece.'
- David Hockney died last month aged 88, a month before the print's discovery was announced, giving the auction a memorial dimension; Major Tracey Bale of Norwich Citadel credited Banks with recognizing the donation's true value.
Why it matters: For Norwich's Salvation Army, a single donated book turned into £41,160 in unrestricted funds for community work — a windfall made possible by volunteer Jemma Banks recognizing that a year-old donation actually contained an original signed Hockney print.
