Hilary Pecis has emerged as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary American painting, crafting a visual language that is at once exuberant, intimate, and rigorously composed. Based in Los Angeles, Pecis draws from the immediacy of her surroundings—her home, her travels, her visual memories—to produce paintings that transform the everyday into something quietly monumental. Her work belongs to a lineage of artists who have elevated domestic space and still life into arenas of painterly invention, yet it feels unmistakably contemporary in its sensibility and pace.
Introduction
Educated at the California College of the Arts and later earning her MFA from California State University, Fullerton, Hilary Pecis (b. 1979, Fullerton, California) developed her practice in dialogue with both West Coast light and a deep engagement with art history. Her paintings often operate as meditations on looking itself—how images are collected, remembered, and ultimately reconstructed through the act of painting.
A Language of Color, Pattern, and Perspective
Hilary Pecis makes paintings and drawings in which tableaus rich with interlocking fields of saturated color, geometric patterning, and bold linework provide views of sun-drenched domestic still lifes and landscape environments. Books crowding a coffee table, the remains of a dinner party, and terrains lush with Southern California succulents make frequent appearances in her work; these meticulously arranged interiors and vibrantly rendered exteriors amount to an overarching portrait of the self that identifies objects and locations as signifiers for human characteristics.
Pecis’s work is immediately recognizable for its bold chromatic intensity and flattened, almost mosaic-like compositions. Her interiors and still lifes are built through a careful orchestration of pattern, color, and line, where space is compressed and depth is suggested rather than described. Tables tilt forward, windows open onto fragmented landscapes, and objects—books, ceramics, flowers—become rhythmic elements within a larger visual field.
While her compositions may appear spontaneous, they are in fact highly constructed. Pecis frequently works from photographs she takes herself, using them as a starting point before distilling and reconfiguring the image into a painted surface that balances structure and vitality. The resulting works hover between observation and invention, echoing traditions from Henri Matisse’s interiors to the spatial play of the Nabis, while remaining rooted in a distinctly Californian clarity of light.
Interiors, Still Lifes, and Landscapes: The Core Series
At the heart of Pecis’s practice lies a sustained exploration of three interconnected genres: interiors, still lifes, and landscapes. Her interiors—arguably her most celebrated body of work—depict domestic spaces saturated with color and layered with personal objects, offering glimpses into a life both specific and universal. These paintings often function as portraits without figures, where identity is conveyed through arrangement and atmosphere.
Her still lifes extend this inquiry, isolating everyday objects such as vases, fruit, or stacks of books, and transforming them into vibrant studies of color and form. Meanwhile, her landscapes, often derived from travel, introduce a different rhythm—more open, yet equally structured—where architecture, vegetation, and horizon lines interact in carefully calibrated compositions. Together, these series form a cohesive practice centered on perception, memory, and the act of framing the world.
Technique and Process
Pecis works primarily in acrylic on canvas, a medium that allows for both immediacy and precision. Her surfaces are characterized by crisp edges, saturated hues, and an absence of visible hesitation. Each painting unfolds as a sequence of decisions, where color relationships drive the composition as much as the subject itself.
The influence of photography is central to her process, yet her paintings resist photographic realism. Instead, they embrace a painterly logic in which scale, proportion, and perspective are adjusted to serve the overall harmony of the image. This balance between control and freedom is what gives her work its distinctive energy—simultaneously composed and alive.
Exhibition History and Institutional Presence
Hilary Pecis has achieved significant institutional recognition over the past decade. Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at major institutions, including the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, which presented a focused exhibition highlighting the evolution of her interiors and still lifes. She has also exhibited at the Long Beach Museum of Art and other prominent venues in the United States.
Her paintings are held in important public collections, including the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; Palm Springs Art Museum, California; and Aïshti Foundation, Beirut. Pecis lives and works in Los Angeles.
Gallery Representation and Recent Highlights
Hilary Pecis is represented by David Kordansky Gallery, Rachel Uffner Gallery, and also by Timothy Taylor, whose program spans London and New York. The addition of Timothy Taylor further underscores the international expansion of her market and institutional reach.
In recent years, her exhibitions have garnered strong critical and commercial attention, reflecting a broader renewed interest in figurative and representational painting. Her ability to merge accessibility with formal sophistication has positioned her at the forefront of a generation of painters redefining contemporary realism.
Ultimately, Hilary Pecis’s work is about attention, about the act of noticing and the transformation of the familiar into something enduring. Her paintings invite viewers into spaces that feel both personal and open, where color becomes a language and everyday life becomes a subject worthy of sustained contemplation.
In an era saturated with images, Pecis offers something rare: a slowed-down vision of the world, filtered through the discipline and pleasure of painting.
PART I: SUMMARY
Auction Market Overview
2025 AUCTION STATISTICS
Turnover: USD 1,092,496
-63.4% vs. 2024
# Lots sold: 9
Sell-Through Rate: 90%
Highest Price Achieved at Auction:
USD 1,260,000
(21 November 2024)
Hilary Pecis’s market has developed rapidly, driven by both institutional validation and strong gallery support. Her paintings are highly sought after on the primary market, with demand often exceeding supply, while her presence at auction, though still relatively limited, has shown consistent strength and upward momentum. Collectors are drawn to the immediacy of her work, its decorative appeal, and its art historical resonance. At the same time, her practice maintains a level of rigor that ensures its relevance beyond trends, anchoring her position within the broader narrative of contemporary painting.
Auction Summary
2025 Auction Highlights
9 lots sold at auction in 2025 for a total turnover of USD 1,092,496. With 1 lot failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 90%. The highest price has been achieved by Coffee Table, a painting dated 2020, that sold at Sotheby’s in Hong-Kong, on 28 September 2025, for HKD 2,921,000 (USD 375,450).
2025 Top 3 Lots
4 lots sold for more than USD 100,000, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 916,216, representing 83.9% of the total turnover for 2025.
2024 Auction Highlights
7 lots sold at auction in 2024 for a total turnover of USD 2,988,000. With 1 lot failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 88%. The highest price of USD 1,260,000 has been achieved by Wine at J’s, a painting dated 2020, that sold at Christie’s in New-York on 21 November 2024.
2024 Top 3 Lots
2023 Auction Highlights
Only 2 paintings sold in 2023. An untitled painting dated 2022 sold at Phillips in Hong-Kong, on 6 October 2023, for HKD 6,985,000 (USD 891,998), and Drive In, dated 2018 sold at Christie’s in New-York, on 12 May 2023, for USD 107,100. With no lot failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 100%.
2022 Auction Highlights
17 paintings sold in 2022 for a total turnover of USD 6,821,190. With no lot failing to sell, the Sell-Through rate is 100%. The highest price was achieved by Fish and Bird, a painting dated 2019, that sold at Sotheby’s in London on 2 March 2022 for GBP 942,500 (USD 1,259,858).
2 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 2,431,792, representing 35.6% of the total turnover for 2022. 15 lots sold for more than USD 100,000.
2022 Top 3 Lots
2021 Auction Highlights
12 lots sold at auction in 2021 for a total turnover of USD 4,031,714. With no lot failing to sell, the Sell-Through rate is 100%. The highest price of USD 870,000 has been achieved at Christie’s in New-York on 8 November 2021 for Upstairs Interior, a painting dated 2019. 10 lots sold for more than USD 200,000, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 3,685,477, representing 91.4% of the total turnover for 2021.
2021 Top 3 Lots
Top Lots
#1. Wine at J’s, 2020
Christie’s New-York: 21 November 2024
Estimated: USD 400,000 – 600,000
USD 1,260,000
NEW AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Wine at J’s | Christie’s
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Wine at J’s, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
76×64 inches (193 x 162.6 cm)
Signed, titled and dated twice ‘”Wine at J’s” 2020 Hilary Pecis 2020’ (on the reverse)
#2. Fish and Bird, 2019
Sotheby’s London: 2 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 942,500 / USD 1,259,858
Fish and Bird | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Fish and Bird, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
50×40 inches (127 x 101.6 cm)
Signed Hilary Pecis, titled Fish and Bird, and dated 2019 (on the verso)
#3. Big Boy, 2020
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 25 May 2022
Estimated: HKD 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
HKD 9,198,000 / USD 1,171,734
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Big Boy, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
173 x 137.5 cm. (68 1⁄8 x 54 1⁄8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Big Boy 2020’ (on the reverse)
#4. Untitled, 2022
Phillips Hong-Kong: 6 October 2023
Estimated: HKD 5,500,000 – 7,500,000
HKD 6,985,000 / USD 891,998
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Contemp… Lot 4 October 2023 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS
Untitled, 2022
Acrylic on linen
74×64 inches (188 x 162.6 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Hilary Pecis 2022’ on the reverse
#5. Upstairs Interior, 2019
Christie’s New-York: 8 November 2021
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 870,000
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Upstairs Interior, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
44×32 inches (111.8 x 81.3 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Upstairs Iterior [sic] 2019’ (on the reverse)
PART II: AUCTION RESULTS
2026 Auction Results
Inside/Outside, 2020
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 27 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
HKD 5,715,000 / USD 729,885
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Inside/Outside | Christie’s
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Inside/Outside, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
74×100 inches (188×254 cm)
Signed ‘Hilary Pecis’ (on the overlap)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis “Inside/Outside” 2020’ (on the reverse)
Fish and Bird, 2019
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
HKD 2,032,000 / USD 259,515
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Fish and Bird | Christie’s
REPEAT SALE
Sotheby’s London: 2 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 942,500 / USD 1,259,858
Hilary Pecis | Fish and Bird | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 |
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Fish and Bird, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
49-1/2 x 39-3/4 inches (127 x 101.6 cm)
Signed, titled, and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Fish and Bird 2019’ (on the reverse)
2025 Auction Results
9 lots sold at auction in 2025 for a total turnover of USD 1,092,496. With 1 lot failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 90%. The highest price has been achieved by Coffee Table, a painting dated 2020, that sold at Sotheby’s in Hong-Kong, on 28 September 2025, for HKD 2,921,000 (USD 375,450).
2025 Top 3 Lots
4 lots sold for more than USD 100,000, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 916,216, representing 83.9% of the total turnover for 2025.
#1. Coffee Table, 2020
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 28 September 2025
Estimated: HKD 2,400,000 – 4,000,000
HKD 2,921,000 / USD 375,450
Hilary Pecis 希拉里 · 佩西斯 | Coffee Table 咖啡桌 | Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Coffee Table, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
54 x 68 1/8 inches (137×173 cm)
Signed (on the overlap)
Signed, titled and dated 2020 (on the reverse)
#2. Poppies, 2019
Sotheby’s New-York: 16 May 2025
Estimated: USD 120,000 – 180,000
USD 228,600
Poppies | Contemporary Day Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Poppies, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
42 1/8 x 30 1/8 inches (107 x 76.5 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2019 (on the reverse)
#3. Studio Vases, 2022
Sotheby’s London: 17 October 2025
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 200,000
GBP 152,400 / USD 204,215
READ MORE IN FOCUS SECTION
Studio Vases | Contemporary Day Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Studio Vases, 2022
Acrylic on linen
54×44 inches (137.2 x 111.8 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2022 (on the reverse)
#4. Untitled (Lily Pads), 2020
Property from a Prestigious Private Collector
Sotheby’s New-York: 19 November 2025
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 107,950
Untitled (Lily Pads) | Contemporary Day Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Untitled (Lily Pads), 2020
Acrylic on canvas
24×20 inches (61 x 50.8 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2020 (on the reverse)
Signed (on the overlap)
USD 100,000
#5. Cactus Blooms, 2017
Phillips New-York: 21 November 2025
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 90,300
Hilary Pecis Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Afternoon Session
Acrylic on canvas
20×16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Signed, titled and dated “Hilary Pecis “Cactus Blooms” 2017″ on the reverse
#6. Angeles Crest, 2022
Christie’s London: 12 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 10,000 – 15,000
GBP 23,940 / USD 30,985
WORK ON PAPER
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Angeles Crest | Christie’s
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Angeles Crest, 2022
Watercolor on paper
12 1/4 x 9 inches (31×23 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Angeles Crest 2022’ (on the reverse)
#7. Studio Study, 2015
Rago: 30 July 2025
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
USD 24,130
WORK ON PAPER
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Studio Study, 2015
Oil on paper
8 3/4 x 7 inches (22×18 cm)
Signed, titled and dated to verso ‘Hilary Pecis Studio Study 2015′
#8. Untitled #32, 2008
Rago: 21 May 2025
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000
USD 20,320
WORK ON PAPER
188: HILARY PECIS, Untitled #32 < Post War & Contemporary Art, 21 May 2025
HILARY PECIS (b.1979)
Untitled #32, 2008
Mixed media, acrylic, ink and paper collage on panel
36 x 48 x 1 3/4 inches (91×122×4 cm)
Signed, titled and dated to verso ‘Hilary Pecis 2008 untitled’
#9. Eva Hesse, 2015
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 30 May 2025
Estimated: HKD 100,000 – 300,000
HKD 82,550 / USD 10,545
Hilary Pecis 希拉里 · 佩西斯 | Eva Hesse 伊娃 · 海斯 | Modern & Contemporary Discoveries | 2025 | Sotheby’s
REPEAT SALE
Phillips London: 29 June 2022
Estimated: GBP 60,000 – 80,000
GBP 52,920 / USD 64,277
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Contempo… Lot 103 June 2022 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Eva Hesse, 2015
acrylic on canvas laid on panel
20×16 inches (51 x 40.6 cm)
Signed, dated 2015 and inscribed (on the reverse)
Lots Passed
Tea Parlor, 2020
Christie’s Shanghai: 3 April 2025
Estimated: CNY 1,500,000 – 2,500,000
PASSED
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Tea Parlor | Christie’s
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Tea Parlor, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
53 7/8 x 44 1/8 inches (137×112 cm)
Signed, dated and titled ‘Hilary Pecis 2020 “Tea Parlor”‘ (on the reverse)
2024 Auction Results
7 lots sold at auction in 2024 for a total turnover of USD 2,988,000. With 1 lot failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 88%. The highest price of USD 1,260,000 has been achieved by Wine at J’s, a painting dated 2020, that sold at Christie’s in New-York on 21 November 2024.
2024 Top 3 Lots
#1. Wine at J’s, 2020
Christie’s New-York: 21 November 2024
Estimated: USD 400,000 – 600,000
USD 1,260,000
NEW AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Wine at J’s | Christie’s
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Wine at J’s, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
76×64 inches (193 x 162.6 cm)
Signed, titled and dated twice ‘”Wine at J’s” 2020 Hilary Pecis 2020’ (on the reverse)
USD 1 million
#2. Record Collection, 2024
Iovine and Young Center for High School Education Benefit Auction
Sotheby’s New-York: 27 February 2024
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 700,000
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Record Collection, 2024
Acrylic on linen
54x44x2 inches (137.2 cm x 111.8 x 5.1 cm)
Signed and dated verso
This auction is hosted on Sothebys.com, there is no buyer’s premium in this auction – all sale proceeds will go directly to the Iovine and Young Foundation to support its programs
#3. Clementine’s Bookshelf, 2021
Sotheby’s New-York: 20 November 2024
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 504,000
Clementine’s Bookshelf | The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction | 2024 | Sotheby’s
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Clementine’s Bookshelf, 2021
Acrylic on linen
74×64 inches (188 x 162.6 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2021 (on the reverse)
USD 500,000
#4. Adrianne’s Bookshelf, 2020
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 9 November 2024
Estimated: HKD 1,500,000 – 2,500,000
HKD 2,016,000 / USD 259,400
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Adrianne’s Bookshelf | Christie’s
REPEAT SALE
Phillips New-York: 18 May 2022
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 630,000
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Contemporar… Lot 4 May 2022 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Adrianne’s Bookshelf, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
54×44 inches (137.2 x 111.8 cm)
Signed, titled, dated and inscribed ’54 x 44 Hilary Pecis “adrianne’s Bookshelf” 2020′ (on the reverse)
#5. Sculpture Court, 2017
Christie’s New-York: 13 March 2024
Estimated: USD 120,000 – 180,000
USD 138,600
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Sculpture Court | Christie’s (christies.com)
REPEAT SALE
Sotheby’s New-York: 19 November 2021
Estimated: USD 70,000 – 100,000
USD 403,200
Sculpture Court | Contemporary Day Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Sculpture Court, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
40×30 inches (101.6 x 76.5 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis ‘Sculpture Court” 2017’ (on the reverse)
USD 100,000
#6. Crestline Sunset, 2019
Christie’s New-York: 17 May 2024
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 75,600
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Crestline Sunset | Christie’s (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Crestline Sunset, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
30×24 inches (76.2 x 61 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Crestline Sunset 2019’ (on the reverse)
#7. Memorial, 2016
Christie’s New-York: 1 October 2024
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 50,400
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Memorial | Christie’s
REPEAT SALE
Christie’s New-York: 12 November 2021
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 250,000
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Memorial, 2016
Acrylic on canvas
18 x 24 1/8 inches (45.7 x 61.3 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis “Memorial” 2016’ (on the reverse)
2023 Auction Results
Only 2 paintings sold in 2023. An untitled painting dated 2022 sold at Phillips in Hong-Kong, on 6 October 2023, for HKD 6,985,000 (USD 891,998), and Drive In, dated 2018 sold at Christie’s in New-York, on 12 May 2023, for USD 107,100. With no lot failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 100%.
#1. Untitled, 2022
Phillips Hong-Kong: 6 October 2023
Estimated: HKD 5,500,000 – 7,500,000
HKD 6,985,000 / USD 891,998
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Contemp… Lot 4 October 2023 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS
Untitled, 2022
Acrylic on linen
74×64 inches (188 x 162.6 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Hilary Pecis 2022’ on the reverse
#2. Drive In, 2018
Christie’s New-York: 12 May 2023
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 107,100
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Drive In, 2018
Acrylic on canvas
24×20 inches (61 x 50.8 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis “Drive In” 2018’ (on the reverse)
2022 Auction Results
17 paintings sold in 2022 for a total turnover of USD 6,821,190. With no lot failing to sell, the Sell-Through rate is 100%. The highest price was achieved by Fish and Bird, a painting dated 2019, that sold at Sotheby’s in London on 2 March 2022 for GBP 942,500 (USD 1,259,858).
2 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 2,431,792, representing 35.6% of the total turnover for 2022. 15 lots sold for more than USD 100,000.
2022 Top 3 Lots
#1. Fish and Bird, 2019
Sotheby’s London: 2 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 942,500 / USD 1,259,858
Fish and Bird | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Fish and Bird, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
50×40 inches (127 x 101.6 cm)
Signed Hilary Pecis, titled Fish and Bird, and dated 2019 (on the verso)
#2. Big Boy, 2020
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 25 May 2022
Estimated: HKD 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
HKD 9,198,000 / USD 1,171,734
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Big Boy, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
68 1/8 x 54 1/8 inches (173 x 137.5 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Big Boy 2020’ (on the reverse)
USD 1 million
#3. Adrianne’s Bookshelf, 2020
Phillips New-York: 18 May 2022
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 630,000
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Contemporar… Lot 4 May 2022 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS
Adrianne’s Bookshelf, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
54 1/4 x 44 inches (137.7 x 111.8 cm)
Signed, titled and dated “Hilary Pecis “Adrianne’s Bookshelf” 2020″ on the reverse
#4. Interior With Cats and Fish, 2019
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 30 November 2022
Estimated: HKD 1,500,000 – 2,500,000
HKD 3,780,000 / USD 484,303
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Interior With Cats and Fish, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
60×48 inches (152.4 x 121.9 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Interior with Cats and Fish 2019’ (on the reverse)
#5. Bazaar, 2019
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 27 April 2022
Estimated: HKD 800,000 – 1,200,000
HKD 3,528,000 / USD 449,610
Hilary Pecis 希拉里・佩西斯 | Bazaar 市集 | Contemporary Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Bazaar, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
44×42 inches (111.8 x 81.3 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2019 on the reverse
#6. Music Console, 2019
Seoul Auction: 22 March 2022
Estimated: KRW 400,000,000 – 600,000,000
KRW 472,000,000 / USD 394,145
REPEAT SALE
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 10 October 2021
Estimated: HKD 800,000 – 1,500,000
HKD 2,142,000 / USD 275,162
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Music Console, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
30 x 42 1/8 inches (76.2 x 106.9 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2019 on the reverse
#7. Table Top Book Stack, 2018
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 1 December 2022
Estimated: HKD 1,500,000 – 2,500,000
HKD 2,772,000 / USD 356,398
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Table Top Book Stack, 2018
Acrylic on canvas
40×30 inches (101.7 x 76.2 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Table Top Book Stack 2018’ (on the reverse)
#8. Dinner, 2019
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 27 May 2022
Estimated: HKD 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
HKD 2,646,000 / USD 337,091
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Dinner, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
40×36 inches (101.6 x 91.4 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis “dinner” 2019’ (on the reverse)
#9. Kitchen Counter, 2015
Christie’s London: 2 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 60,000 – 80,000
GBP 252,000 / USD 336,853
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Kitchen Counter, 2015
Acrylic on canvas
24×36 inches (60.6 x 91 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Kitchen Counter 2015’ (on the reverse)
“When we spend a little extra time looking at the everyday objects around us, where it is the things we see inside or outside, the living and inanimate, things staged and those that move such as shadows and reflections, we notice the magic in all of those things. My attempt is to pick up on some of the nuances and elevate those things.”
#10. Map of the Eastern Sierras, 2017
Christie’s New-York: 10 March 2022
Estimated: USD 90,000 – 120,000
USD 315,000
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Map of the Eastern Sierras, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
24×30 inches (61 x 76.2 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Map of the Eastern Sierras 2017’ (on the reverse)
#11. Birthday Dinner, 2019
Sotheby’s New-York: 20 May 2022
Estimated: USD 200,000 – 300,000
USD 302,400
Birthday Dinner | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Birthday Dinner, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
60×48 inches (152.4 x 122 cm)
Signed Hilary Pecis, titled and dated 2019 (on the reverse)
#12. PK Studio Phone, 2019
Phillips New-York: 19 May 2022
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 214,200
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Contempor… Lot 312 May 2022 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS
PK Studio Phone, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
28×22 inches (71.1 x 55.9 cm)
Signed, titled and dated “Hilary Pecis ‘PK Studio Phone’ 2019” on the reverse
#13. Unsafe Footing (California Coast), 2018
Phillips Hong-Kong: 21 June 2022
Estimated: HKD 700,000 – 1,000,000
HKD 1,260,000 / USD 160,513
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Contempo… Lot 112 June 2022 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS
Unsafe Footing (California Coast), 2018
Acrylic on canvas
40 1/8 x 29 7/8 inches (101.8 x 76.1 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis “”California Coast”” 2018’ on the reverse
#14. Still Life with Poppy Pods, 2016
Sotheby’s New-York: 11 March 2022
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 151,200
Still Life with Poppy Pods | Contemporary Curated | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Still Life with Poppy Pods, 2016
Acrylic on canvas
19 5/8 x 15 3/4 inches (50×40 cm)
Signed Hilary Pecis, titled Still Life with Poppy Pods and dated 2016 (on the verso)
#15. Anemones in Black Vase, 2020
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 October 2022
Estimated: HKD 400,000 – 550,000
HKD 882,000 / USD 112,358
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Anemones in Black Vase, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
23 1/4 x 18 1/8 inches (59×46 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2020 on the reverse
#16. Mushroom Patch, 2018
LA Modern: 23 June 2022
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 81,250
HILARY PECIS (b.1979)
Mushroom Patch, 2018
Oil on canvas
20×16 inches (51×41 cm)
Signed, dated and inscribed to verso ‘Hilary Pecis Mushroom Patch 2018’
#17. Eva Hesse, 2019
Phillips London: 29 June 2022
Estimated: GBP 60,000 – 80,000
GBP 52,920 / USD 64,277
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Contempo… Lot 103 June 2022 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS
Eva Hesse, 2019
Acrylic on canvas stretched on panel
20 x 15 7/8 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Signed and inscribed ‘Hilary Pecis thermostat, Eva and switch.’ on the reverse
2021 Auction Results
12 lots sold at auction in 2021 for a total turnover of USD 4,031,714.
With no lot failing to sell, the Sell-Through rate is 100%. The highest price of USD 870,000 has been achieved at Christie’s in New-York on 8 November 2021 for Upstairs Interior, a painting dated 2019. 10 lots sold for more than USD 200,000, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 3,685,477, representing 91.4% of the total turnover for 2021.
2021 Top 3 Lots
#1. Upstairs Interior, 2019
Christie’s New-York: 8 November 2021
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 870,000
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Upstairs Interior, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
44×32 inches (111.8 x 81.3 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Upstairs Iterior [sic] 2019’ (on the reverse)
#2. Backyard View, 2018
Sotheby’s London: 1 July 2021
Estimated: GBP 20,000 – 30,000
GBP 340,200 / USD 468,724
Backyard View | Contemporary Art Day Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Backyard View, 2018
Acrylic on canvas
24×20 inches (60.9 x 50.8 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2018 on the reverse
#3. Sculpture Court, 2017
Sotheby’s New-York: 19 November 2021
Estimated: USD 70,000 – 100,000
USD 403,200
Sculpture Court | Contemporary Day Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Sculpture Court, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
40×30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
Signed Hilary Pecis, titled and dated 2017 (on the reverse)
#4. Camellias and Leopard, 2019
Sotheby’s London: 15 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 277,200 / USD 381,345
Camellias and Leopard | Contemporary Art Day Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Camellias and Leopard, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
29 1/8 x 23 inches (74 x 58.5 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2019 on the reverse
#5. Kaba on a Chair, 2019
Christie’s London: 15 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 225,000 / USD 309,533
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Kaba on a Chair, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
30 1/8 x 24 inches (76.4 x 61 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Kaba on a Chair 2019’ (on the reverse)
#6. Summer Patio, 2019
Sotheby’s London: 14 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 50,000 – 70,000
GBP 201,600 / USD 275,899
Summer Patio | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Summer Patio, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
42×30 inches (106.9 x 76.3 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2019 on the reverse
#7. Music Console, 2019
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 10 October 2021
Estimated: HKD 800,000 – 1,500,000
HKD 2,142,000 / USD 275,162
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Music Console, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
30 x 42 1/8 inches (76.2 x 106.9 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2019 on the reverse
#8. Memorial, 2016
Christie’s New-York: 12 November 2021
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 250,000
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Memorial, 2016
Acrylic on canvas
18 x 24 1/8 inches (45.7 x 61.3 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis “Memorial” 2016’ (on the reverse)
#9. Beverly, 2017
Phillips Hong-Kong: 29 November 2021
Estimated: HKD 200,000 – 300,000
HKD 1,764,000 / USD 226,160
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Cont… Lot 104 November 2021 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS
Beverly, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
24 1/4 x 18 1/8 inches (61.5 x 46 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis “Beverly”, 2017’ on the reverse
Further signed ‘Hilary Pecis’ on the stretcher
#10. Garden Cats, 2016
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 25 May 2021
Estimated: HKD 300,000 – 500,000
HKD 1,750,000 / USD 225,435
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Garden Cats | Christie’s
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Garden Cats, 2016
Acrylic on canvas
40 x 29 7/8 inches (101.6 x 76 cm)
Signed, dated and titled ‘Hilary Pecis garden cats, 2016’ (on the stretcher)
#11. Nasturtiums, 2018
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 2 December 2021
Estimated: HKD 320,000 – 480,000
HKD 1,500,000 / USD 192,470
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Nasturtiums | Christie’s
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Nasturtiums, 2018
Acrylic on canvas
20×16 inches (51×41 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis 2018 Nasturtiums’ (on the reverse)
#12. Untitled (California Coast), 2018
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 10 October 2021
Estimated: HKD 400,000 – 600,000
HKD 1,197,000 / USD 153,765
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Untitled (California Coast), 2018
Acrylic on canvas
20×16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2018 on the reverse
PART III: FOCUS
Record Breakers
Wine at J’s, 2020
Christie’s New-York: 21 November 2024
Estimated: USD 400,000 – 600,000
USD 1,260,000
NEW AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979), Wine at J’s | Christie’s
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Wine at J’s, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
76×64 inches (193 x 162.6 cm)
Signed, titled and dated twice ‘”Wine at J’s” 2020 Hilary Pecis 2020’ (on the reverse)
Hilary Pecis’s practice has revolutionized contemporary representational painting with her exciting studies of finely-rendered interior scenes. In Wine at J’s, bold, saturated colors permeate an evenly lit interior rich in vibrant patterns and textures. The work offers a familiarizing glimpse into an intimate scene, with accumulated objects atop both the coffee table and fireplace mantel meticulously rendered with a sense of welcoming immediacy beckoning the viewer into the picture. Providing a fresh update to the time-honored tradition of still life painting, Pecis infuses her canvases with rich domestic scenes evacuated of figures, allowing the books, candles, vases, and wine glasses left behind to open a window onto these anonymous characters’ lives. Her vibrant palette recalls Hockney and Matisse, while her devotion to the detailed depiction of each object within her tableau reminds one of Cezanne’s table scenes. Pecis delights in detail, offering a surfeit of patterned decorative objects amid scores of art books to celebrate the subtle beauty found in the quotidian.
Born in San Francisco and now living in Los Angeles, Pecis paints her pictures from single images she takes of her life with her iPhone. Working from one reference point allows her to create her idiosyncratic perspective. She captivatingly recreates her reality witnessed from her phone camera onto the flat picture pane, allowing her viewer to glimpse her life from her own point of view. From this method, Pecis establishes an engrossing verisimilitude sanctioned by the interactions between her objects. The lone animate presence in this work, the white cat peering out intently from its perch atop the rightmost bookshelf, is a recurring motif in Pecis’ work, where cats enhance the work’s verisimilar atmosphere.
Pecis integrates three paintings within Wine at J’s. The large central Fauvist scene above the fireplace alludes to Pecis’ study of the movement, while the seascape to the left coupled with the starfish placed in the center of the mantel situates the scene in the sun-drenched coast of southern California. Pecis’ pictures-within-pictures assist in granting the painting a sense of place and specificity, similar to how Vermeer uses the trope within his interiors as keys to understanding his compositions as a whole, as seen in A Young Woman Seated at the Virginal at the National Gallery, London. This practice similarly allows the artist to imitate disparate artistic styles within a singular work of art:
“Still lifes and interiors are deeply rooted in the history of representational painting. There are all these opportunities to noodle away at other artists’ or artisans’ mark-making, trying to depict something that isn’t mine—fonts, or handicrafts, or textiles. It’s an opportunity to further my own vocabulary. I get to try out different marks and be a tourist in other people’s paintings.”
Left: Present lot illustrated (detail).
Right: Vincent Van Gogh, La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle) (Augustine-Alix Pellicot roulin, 1851-1930), 1889. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY.
Pecis’s radical perspective, wherein her coffee table seems to collapse toward the viewer, holds the table-bound objects in space against the seeming weight of gravity. She inserts her viewer directly into the picture, inviting us to a seat and stewardship of the almost-vanquished glass of Amédée Plan de Dieu 2016 perched next to an open catalogue. With this daring insertion of the viewer within the composition, Wine at J’s operates similarly to Velázquez’s Las Meninas or Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait where the viewer becomes a part of the composition—yet while the viewer functions as either the Spanish monarch posing for a portrait or a witness of marital vows in Pecis’s antecedents, here we are ensconced in the domestic comfort of a friend’s living room, party to an intimate conversation. The relationship between viewer and tableau here is as complex as in Velázquez; an open catalogue offers a view of van Gogh’s La Berceuse, granting ample comparison between the Dutch artist’s brilliant floral background, Pecis’s vibrant bouquet of red poppies, and the fictive floral still life hung in the upper right. Wine at J’s is a semiotician’s paradise, each depicted object a referent in a web of interrelated meaning as rich as a Northern Renaissance panel painting. The work’s rich complexity offers limitless scope for interpretation and aesthetic enjoyment, granting the viewer a private escape into her private world.
Untitled, 2022
Phillips Hong-Kong: 6 October 2023
Estimated: HKD 5,500,000 – 7,500,000
HKD 6,985,000 / USD 891,998
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Contemp… Lot 4 October 2023 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS
Untitled, 2022
Acrylic on linen
74×64 inches (188 x 162.6 cm)
Signed and dated ‘Hilary Pecis 2022’ on the reverse
Vivid, eclectic, and warm, Californian artist Hilary Pecis’s intimate vignettes of interior spaces are celebrations of the sun-filled, laidback spaces of Los Angeles. Her canvases are joyful tapestries of color, filled patchworks of pattern that are effortless and free, whilst simultaneously maintaining a certain meticulousness and intention with each mark. Situated within the traditional genre of still life painting, Pecis’s distinct style of flat yet vibrant colors form an idiosyncratic visual lexicon that mimics the warmth and cosiness of afternoon sunlight, tapping into the local Southern Californian aesthetic. Fittingly, the present work was first unveiled in the artist’s solo exhibition, Warmly, with Rachel Uffner Gallery in 2022. In the present work, a salon-style hang of picture frames on the back wall features an array of animals and flora, echoing the main subject matter in the foreground. Characterized by the use of Fauvist hues and flat blocks of color, Hilary Pecis captures the laid-back mood of Californian life with a unique color palette that connects the natural movements of sunlight with shadow and reflection. Pecis’s unique depiction of objects such as glass vases demonstrates the artist’s technique prowess, whereby the nuances of light are carefully translated into smaller blocks of refracted color.
Rendered in bright yellow and orange, the tablecloth is a backdrop that vies for the viewer’s attention against the vases of freshly blooming flowers at the centre of the canvas. In a more conventional still life, the crowded gallery wall of picture frames would be blurry and muted; but in Pecis’s compositions, each element fights to be the centre of attention, seemingly clashing yet coexisting in complete harmony. This is achieved in part through a restricted colour palette: the blazing red is the same whether it colours a flower in the picture frame on the wall, the roses in the centre, or the ceramic vase to the right. The burnt ochre – one of Pecis’s most characteristic colours – is present not only on the tablecloth, but also on the flowers and in the background.
These careful, lush depictions of relatively inexpensive decor — exhibition posters, tablecloths, picture frames, stacks of art works, wallpaper, paintbrushes — capture interior lives and aspirations better, perhaps, than direct portraiture might. In other words, you may not get a person’s face, but you get a sense of who they are. Each artist, including Pecis, explores found arrangements in private spaces – each one a pocket of expression that is rich with clues about its inhibitor’s lifestyle and values.
Fish and Bird, 2019
Sotheby’s London: 2 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 942,500 / USD 1,259,858
Fish and Bird | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Fish and Bird, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
50×40 inches (127 x 101.6 cm)
Signed Hilary Pecis, titled Fish and Bird, and dated 2019 (on the verso)
Executed in 2019, Fish and Bird is a delightful example of Hilary Pecis’ portrayal of sun-drenched domestic spaces, in which she finds exquisite beauty and pleasure in quotidian, every-day objects. The LA based artist’s compositions are often filled with decorative items such as brightly patterned tablecloths, blooming flowers, multicolored vases, stacks of artbooks, luscious bowls of fruit, and, in the case of the present work, animals. While in some works cats lie lazily on ochre sofas and dogs curl up atop vibrant checkered blankets, in the present, a yellow bird perches on a table, curiously eying a bright blue dragon fish swimming in a jar. The table is adorned with an electric floral tablecloth and a vase of marigolds. The saturated hues of Fish and Bird signify a distinctly southern California feel, the composition imparting a world that is at once languid and aesthetically enthralling.
Bookshelves
Clementine’s Bookshelf, 2021
Sotheby’s New-York: 20 November 2024
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 504,000
Clementine’s Bookshelf | The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction | 2024 | Sotheby’s
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Clementine’s Bookshelf, 2021
Acrylic on linen
74×64 inches (188 x 162.6 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2021 (on the reverse)
Vibrant and jubilant, Hilary Pecis’ Clementine’s Bookshelf of 2021 is a stunning exemple of the artist’s dedicated interrogation of still life and interior painting. Based in Los Angeles, the California native takes inspiration from her daily encounters to interweave quotidian scenes into lively paintings brimming with saturated hues and sumptuous brushstrokes. Working from photographs of her home or those of her friends, Pecis uses this collection of images as a point of departure for her idiosyncratic style which combines bold patterns, bright colors, abstraction, and altered perspective. Further testament to the soaring interest surrounding her practice, Pecis has found her works collected by prominent institutions such as the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; the Palm Springs Art Museum; the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Pecis’ paintings are often brimming with recognizable details that vie for our attention. Clementine’s Bookshelf foregrounds a handsomely patterned cat, sitting inside a cardboard box, gazing at the viewer. Behind it is a luxurious spread of iconic books, ranging from academic surveys on William Shakespeare and Geoffrey Chaucer to catalogues on modern and contemporary art, or essays by contemporary authors such as David Foster Wallace and Olivia Laing. Each and every one of these objects acts as a gateway for viewers to interact with and relate to the painting, thereby taking themselves deeper into the world Pecis has created. Revealing a private space, featuring books that allow us to glean at one’s interests, backgrounds, and histories, Pecis provides the viewer with an opportunity to explore their imagination, picturing the person who assembled this particular selection in their home. The absence of a human figure in Pecis’ painting counter-intuitively opens up a channel for a deeper understanding of the person behind her compositions.
These luscious renditions of everyday life are based on a meticulous and attentive process. Pecis often takes “vignettes” of daily life using her mobile phone camera—a colorful roadside signboard or a friend’s bookshelf, as in Clementine’s Bookshelf—creating a cache or archive of images that she finds inspiring. Later returning to said archive, she arranges the items within each photo into a composition fit for her acrylics, building up an image with judiciously placed brushstrokes of vivid color. She begins with what she calls an “initial quickness,” a rapid scrawling of the composition onto the canvas, from which she moves onto more careful approaches that tidy up the space and the diverse components of the painting. The resulting painting is a distillation of the artist’s attentive and earnest perspective that reconsiders the topography of daily life.
Left: Alex Katz, West Interior, 1979. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Image © The Philadelphia Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY. Art © 2024 Alex Katz / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Right: David Hockney, Nichols Canyon, 1980. Private Collection. Art © 2024 David Hockney
Pecis’ paintings and their characteristic exuberance are undoubtedly evocative of the Fauvists, not least Henri Matisse. She frequently approaches details of her paintings with bright brushstrokes of color that appear to fade into a pattern of saturated, geometric, contrasting patches of color, redolent of Matisse’s celebrated paper cut-outs or his whimsical mosaic-like domestic interiors. The artist also cites California Funk and Pop art as a core inspiration for her work.
“The Fauves and Funk artists are on the opposite ends of abstraction, one leading into, and the other a reaction after, but both have a vibrancy that speaks to me.”
The expressive flexibility in her use of color and line also hint at her interest in German Expressionists such as Gabriele Münter and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Combining images from her personal life with her inspiration from predecessors who explored the capabilities of color in the pictorial space, Pecis presents a quotidian yet magical slice of life.
Adrianne’s Bookshelf, 2020
Phillips New-York: 18 May 2022
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 630,000
Hilary Pecis – 20th Century & Contemporar… Lot 4 May 2022 | Phillips
HILARY PECIS
Adrianne’s Bookshelf, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
54 1/4 x 44 inches (137.7 x 111.8 cm)
Signed, titled and dated “Hilary Pecis “Adrianne’s Bookshelf” 2020″ on the reverse
Marking Hilary Pecis’ largest canvas at auction to date, Adrianne’s Bookshelf exemplifies the artist’s captivating painterly language that elevates intimate, recognizable vignettes into vibrant celebrations of everyday life. Here, Pecis presents four rows of floating shelves in a cozy domestic setting, packing the composition with books, artworks, flowers, and paraphernalia in her signature aesthetic. Pecis’ meticulous and individual treatment of each object begs us to look closer at the pictures on display and scan each book title—whether fully disclosed or only partially revealed—to find a gem of relatability, something we have seen or possess, while enticing us to decode the identity of this bookshelf’s owner. Transforming still life into a portrait of the human psyche, the present work “delivers [Pecis’] own brand of portraiture by zeroing in on the objects and places that make up the person.”i
Best known for her vibrant still life interiors and landscapes that teem with art historical references, Pecis explores the notions of perception, identity, and meaning through the objects that populate our homes. Drawing from her own surroundings as inspiration, from friends’ homes to lavish gardens—much like fellow Los Angeles-based painter Jonas Wood—the artist transforms these spaces through her painterly sensibility, employing popping colors and bold lines to imbue saturated life visually stunning, modest memorials. Situating Pecis within a longstanding lineage of interior painters, Adrianne’s Bookshelf conjures the artist’s diverse range of influences including the work of Henri Matisse, Les Nabis members such as Félix Vallotton, and undoubtedly David Hockney. While recalling her oft-cited connection to the British painter’s Los Angelesian interiors and gardens, the present work captures Pecis’ signature approach of excluding figures from the composition. Translating these evocations through her unique visual language, Pecis reimagines portraiture by allowing the objects to narrate the entire story of their owners.
“I enjoy portraiture, but the closest I can get to a portrait is by painting someone’s surroundings.
I think it can be as personal as a painting of their face.”
For the present work, Pecis depicted her friend’s bookshelf with her signature still life motifs: artist monographs and exhibition catalogues, various types of novels and plants, and pictures that both bear meaning for the owner of these objects and reflect Pecis’ own artistic inspirations. Here, the artist’s subject is the home of her contemporary Adrianne Rubenstein, with whom Pecis exhibited at Sun Gazers at The Pit, Los Angeles in 2018, The Armory Show in 2020, and 10 Years at the Halsey McKay Gallery, East Hampton in 2021. Pecis alludes to her peer’s eco-forward practice in the “SAVE THE PLANET” imagery on the top two shelves, where Rubenstein’s artistic influences feature in the depicted Peter Saul drawing and Emily Carr reference. Pecis further infuses the composition with her own art historical citations, as seen in her direct nod to one of her greatest inspirations, Matthew Wong, in the framed landscape picture on the second shelf. In this “painting-within-a-painting,” the artist incorporates her love for knick-knacks in the pencil depicted with her friend’s name, embodying how “I get to try out different marks and be a tourist in other people’s paintings,” in her words, “while staying as true to my own vocabulary of mark-making.”
Paintings
Studio Vases, 2022
Sotheby’s London: 17 October 2025
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 200,000
GBP 152,400 / USD 204,215
Studio Vases | Contemporary Day Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Studio Vases, 2022
Acrylic on linen
54×44 inches (137.2 x 111.8 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2022 (on the reverse)
Executed in 2019, Studio Vases is a delightful example of Hilary Pecis’ portrayal of sun-drenched domestic spaces, in which she finds exquisite beauty and pleasure in quotidian, every-day objects. The LA based artist’s compositions are often filled with decorative items such as brightly patterned tablecloths, blooming flowers, multicolored vases, stacks of artbooks, luscious bowls of fruit, and, in the case of the present work, animals. While in some works cats lie lazily on ochre sofas and dogs curl up atop vibrant checkered blankets, in the present, voluminous bunches of flowers sit in vibrantly patterned vases. The table is adorned with an electric floral tablecloth. The saturated hues of Fish and Bird signify a distinctly southern California feel, the composition imparting a world that is at once languid and aesthetically enthralling.
If Pecis’ luscious depiction of Californian interiors is reminiscent of David Hockney’s radiant still lives of the 1990s, her use of color is undoubtedly evocative of the fauvists. Pecis’ patches of saturated, contrasting colour are redolent of Matisse’s celebrated paper cut-outs, or his whimsical mosaic-like domestic scenes such as Red Room (Harmony in Red) (1908), or Odalisque, Blue Harmony (1937), which both exude the very same sense of sumptuous leisure while elevating ordinary, domestic decorative objects such as jugs, fruits, fish and flowers into the realm of fine art. Pecis earned her BA and MFA from California College of the Arts in 2006 and 2009 respectively, and her works now reside in a number of prestigious museum collections, including the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Aïshti Foundation, Beirut and Yuz Museum, Shanghai. Building upon the art historical tradition of still life painting and refreshing the genre for a contemporary audience, Studio Vases encompasses the very best qualities of Pecis’ painterly practice.
Bazaar, 2019
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 27 April 2022
Estimated: HKD 800,000 – 1,200,000
HKD 3,528,000 / USD 449,610
Hilary Pecis 希拉里・佩西斯 | Bazaar 市集 | Contemporary Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Bazaar, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
44×42 inches (111.8 x 81.3 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2019 on the reverse
Brimming with pattern, bursting with color and radiating a distinct warmth, Bazaar (2019) is a standout work by the indomitable Hilary Pecis. Now represented by David Kordansky, the Los Angeles-based artist’s career has exploded over the last two years, with collectors and critics clamoring for her luscious still life paintings of cosy interiors and Californian landscapes. Exhibited in her solo show, Adios Verano at Halsey McKay’s East Hampton gallery in 2019, the present work, Bazaar, is striking in its stylized depiction of a market stall teeming with textiles and ceramics, differing from her typical representation of friends’ living rooms, dinner parties and outdoor scenes.
Pecis’ signature works are intrinsically linked to the artist’s environment of Los Angeles, paying homage to the city’s sun-soaked horizontal landscapes and bohemian interiors. Bazaar presents a celebration of the different cultures that make up the ethnically diverse city, saturated with Mexican iconography and text. From the orange dolphin plate that reads “BAJA” hanging up on the wall, to the “CERAMICA” sign and “Bienvenidas” ceramic hanging at the bottom of the canvas, the work is full of knick knacks, kitchen utensils and fabrics from Mexico. As with most of her work, Pecis captures the slow pace and laid-back atmosphere of her environment and invites the viewer to take their time in browsing the stall, encouraging them to peruse the various layers of the richly textured image. Leather satchels hang from the ceiling, below which a number of variously colored, striped textiles hang on display. To the left of this, decorative plates are presented on the wall, under which more striped fabric is stacked. Nearest to the viewer is a table full of a miscellaneous assortment of kitchenware, from bowls, to jugs, cups and display dishes. The importance with which Pecis imbues each of her objects remains a steadfast theme throughout her work, with the objects in this painting interacting with each other and with the viewer, as if figures themselves.
“There is a sort of portraiture that takes place in what people choose to put on display. I love the idea that those objects either define who they are or who they aspire to be, in addition to that, these is a pleasure in painting the way objects interact with each other as figures themselves.”
Using photographs as a starting point, Pecis makes loose sketches directly on the canvas, building up her image with judiciously placed brushstrokes of colour. Her use of vivid colour and flattened perspective recall the work of the Fauvists including Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and André Derain (1880-1954) who sought to define pictorial space by planes of colour. Pecis has also spoken of the influence that German Expressionism has had on her aesthetic, citing Gabriele Münter and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner amongst her influences, again discernable in the expressive use of color and line in her own work. In Bazaar, oranges, yellows, blues and greens both clash and coalesce, jumping out at the viewer in a jubilant display of brightly coloured objects and homeware goods. Pecis’ love for California Funk art from the 1960s, especially the unique works of Maija Peeples-Bright and Roy de Forest, also shines through her work, sharing their passion for art, nature and color, and combining familiarity with a hint of fantasy.
Graduating from the California College of Arts, San Francisco in 2009 with a BFA and MFA, Hilary Pecis has since become an internationally-recognised name, despite making her auction debut as recently as October 2020 with Sotheby’s Hong Kong. Pecis has been honoured with numerous solo exhibitions around the world, including her first solo UK show, Hilary Pecis: Piecemeal Rhythm at Timothy Taylor, London (2021); Hilary Pecis: Stairs at Halsey McKay Gallery, New York (2021); and Delivered by the Foehn Winds at Spurs Gallery, Beijing (2020). Significantly, the present work was exhibited in Adios Verano at Halsey McKay, East Hampton, New York (2019), her third show with the gallery which presents an exciting range of emerging and mid-career contemporary artists. Intricately painted and saturated with colour, Bazaar is a superb work by Pecis to come to auction, an archetypal example of her highly-coveted oeuvre.
Map of the Eastern Sierras, 2017
Christie’s New-York: 10 March 2022
Estimated: USD 90,000 – 120,000
USD 315,000
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Map of the Eastern Sierras, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
24×30 inches (61 x 76.2 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Map of the Eastern Sierras 2017’ (on the reverse)
Painted in 2017, Map of the Eastern Sierras is a visual and psychological feast, wherein the viewer is invited to ponder life and all of its possibilities through Pecis’s inimitable ability to conjure beauty in the banal. Included in her 2017 solo exhibition Desert Paintings at Halsey McKay Gallery, the present work belongs to a body of paintings inspired by one of the artist’s trips through the Southern California desert. Largely drawn from snapshots taken along the journey, these paintings feature everyday objects. Indeed, in Map of the Eastern Sierras, Pecis accomplishes all of this and more, making this canvas a particularly enthralling example of the marvelously quotidian still-lifes for which the artist is best known.
Often compared to figurative colorists like Henri Matisse, David Hockney and her California contemporary Jonas Wood, Pecis’s work engages with the long-standing tradition of still-life interiors in a personal, hyper-contemporary sense. A dynamically patterned throw blanket dominates the top left quadrant of the canvas in a move that not only anchors the composition but also allows the artist to flex her steadfast control over pattern, line and color, convincingly rounding out the folds of the fabric with little more than simple yet calculated painterly gestures. Interestingly, this particular patterned throw appears to have captivated the artist on more than one occasion, as it appears several times in Pecis’s recent work.
Typical of Pecis’s oeuvre, the canvas itself is devoid of any humans – though the painting still emanates a deep sense of humanity. As Pecis has said, “The things we surround ourselves with are signifiers of who we are and who we want to be” (H. Pecis, quoted in T. Dafoe, “’She’s Kind of Our David Hockney’: How Hilary Pecis Set the Art World Aflutter With Charming Paintings of Life in Los Angeles,” Artnet News, 10 June 2021). In Map of the Eastern Sierras, a sprawling, fold-out regional map complete with visitor tips and trail routes, drinking vessels that somehow have the feeling of being already emptied, a Sharpie marker, an old Honda car key and a quartet of brightly-colored scratch-off lottery tickets all work together to captivate the viewer in a cloud of youthful nostalgia and freedom. The generic coffee cup design screams independent roadside gas station, and one imagines that the lottery tickets could be an ongoing game between travel mates (whoever they may be), purchased from the vending machines at each pitstop and in turn igniting small but exhilarating moments of hope and excitement along the way – what if? Whether or not this actually occurred is not the point; rather, the point is that despite its highly personal quality – a painting of a snapshot capturing a fleeting moment in the artist’s life – Map of the Eastern Sierras allows each viewer to bring to the table his or her own memories, feelings and associations. In its intentional lack of context but abundance of visual information, the painting is endowed with an inherent freedom for the viewer to interpret and engage with the painting in a personal way, culminating in a surprising sense of warmth and familiarity at the very core of Pecis’s practice.
Upstairs Interior, 2019
Christie’s New-York: 8 November 2021
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 870,000
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Upstairs Interior, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
44×32 inches (111.8 x 81.3 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Upstairs Iterior [sic] 2019’ (on the reverse)
Upstairs Interior is an exquisite example of Pecis’s domestic subjects, and displays her talent for transforming humdrum daily settings into intricate visual feasts where colors pop and spaces open themselves to prolonged looking. Drawing comparisons to her LA contemporary Jonas Wood, Pecis embraces solid colors and bold lines that are as much about creating a composition full of potential energy as they are about accurately describing the spaces she chooses to render. Depicting a well-decorated corner of a small sitting room, Upstairs Interior looks into a wood-floored area with white walls and a simple fireplace. A low coffee table full of books and a vase of flowers sits atop a patterned rug covered with geometric forms in brown, red, black, white, yellow, and blue which takes up much of the foreground as it slopes off at a slightly unrealistic angle. A tan loveseat and aqua sofa push out of frame, both holding stylish pillows. The right side of the composition shows two vertical windows which gives a brief glimpse of the California landscape outside, its blue sky dotted with a pair of unruly palms. In the far corner, a modest bookcase full of myriad volumes is set behind a wicker chair and surrounded by various works of art and an arching black lamp.
Kaba on a Chair, 2019
Christie’s London: 15 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 225,000 / USD 309,533
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979) (christies.com)
HILARY PECIS (B. 1979)
Kaba on a Chair, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
30 1/8 x 24 inches (76.4 x 61 cm)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Hilary Pecis Kaba on a Chair 2019’ (on the reverse)
Meticulously rendered with vivid, hyper-real clarity, Kaba on a Chair exemplifies Hilary Pecis’ intimate domestic scenes. Crisp, precise strokes chart the cat’s fur and the weave of the rug, each a luxuriant, tactile expression of pattern and texture. Two vibrant artworks hang in the background, while a potted plant resides in the corner: the scene is immaculately staged, fuelled by a complex interplay of geometry, perspective and colour. Painted in 2019, the work captures Pecis’ debt to the aesthetics of Fauvism and Pop Art, as well as the bright, luminous world of Los Angeles where she currently lives and works. The artist has risen to prominence in recent years: following her exhibition at the Crisp Ellert Art Museum in 2020, she mounted a solo show at New York’s Rockefeller Centre this summer, as part of its ‘Art in Focus’ series. Her work is currently on view at the Columbus Art Museum, Ohio for the launch of the Scantland Collection, which features paintings by young contemporary artists including Julie Curtiss, Emily Mae Smith and Claire Tabouret.
Influenced by David Hockney, Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard and Andre Derain, among others, Pecis belongs to a generation of artists who have breathed new life into figurative painting in the twenty-first century. Much like her contemporary Jonas Wood, she draws inspiration from her surroundings, working primarily from her own photographs. ‘From there, I make a loose sketch of the composition directly on the canvas and then noodle away until the painting feels finished’, she explains. ‘Oftentimes the outcome is far from the foresight that I had in the beginning of the painting, which is part of the magic in making a painting’ (H. Pecis, quoted in G. Vitello, ‘Hilary Pecis: The Humble is Whole’, Juxtapoz, 12 June 2021). In the transition from photography to canvas, Pecis slowly warps her subject matter, playing with lighting, pattern, tonality and composition: the results, as seen here, are at once familiar and otherworldly, quotidian yet surreal. Cats feature frequently throughout her oeuvre, while people remain conspicuously absent. Here, the poised green-eyed feline serves to enhance the work’s dream-like atmosphere, its quizzical expression curiously human.
Summer Patio, 2019
Sotheby’s London: 14 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 50,000 – 70,000
GBP 201,600 / USD 275,899
Summer Patio | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Summer Patio, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
42×30 inches (106.9 x 76.3 cm)
Signed, titled and dated 2019 on the reverse
Summer Patio is a vibrant and jubilant iteration of Hilary Pecis’s celebrated investigation into the genre of still life painting, in which she finds exquisite beauty and pleasure in quotidian, every-day objects and surroundings. The composition of the present work is reminiscent of a long, hot summer day, as drained glasses of rose are left behind on a table adorned with an electric blue tablecloth and a vase of red poppies. The acid-washed sky and saturated hues in Summer Patio signify a distinctly southern California feel, the composition imparting a world that is at once languid and aesthetically enthralling.
Sculpture Court, 2017
Sotheby’s New-York: 19 November 2021
Estimated: USD 70,000 – 100,000
USD 403,200
Sculpture Court | Contemporary Day Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)
HILARY PECIS (b. 1979)
Sculpture Court, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
40×30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
Signed Hilary Pecis, titled and dated 2017 (on the reverse)
“I take a lot of photos and don’t always know which will end up as reference material. I don’t always feel the initial inspiration, but might circle back years later. In general, I am looking for a composition that is interesting—forcing me to look around in all directions—but I also need subject matter that is embedded with information. I want a little guidance from the image I am working from, and then the freedom to take liberties with color, line, and space. I like a little boundaries, but not too many rules.”
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM, SCULPTURE GARDEN