British pop art show opens at Christie's Mayfair I think these exhibitions will help educate the general public about what we are doing on our private side [and] the options that we can offer to them. He said it was the first of many exhibitions planned for the gallery space on New Bond Street in central London. British pop art has not been featured in a major show since 1991, as part of the Royal Academy's exhibition of international pop art. There has never been a big exhibition of British pop art in London and the only one in the UK was a touring show from Germany that visited York in 1976. The Christie's show, in association with Waddington Custot Galleries, is devoted solely to British artists and many of the works have not been exhibited publically since the 1960s. The exhibition starts with 1940s collages of Eduardo Paolozzi and runs through to the late 1960s. It includes one of the first works David Hockney ever sold, entitled 'Kaisarion strolling in Alexandria with small stain on character' - the £12 price tag is still on the back - as well as Richard Hamilton's Swingeing London, showing Mick Jagger cuffed to the art dealer Robert Fraser. Other artists exhibited in the show include Clive Barker, Derek Boshier, Patrick Caulfield, Gerald Laing and Nicholas Monro. "This is a great launch for Christie's because it's our first major exhibition in our new space," said Mr Kresler, the head of Christie's private sales in London. It's fantastic to be working with a company like Waddington Custot for our launch and it allows us a great range of works to showcase. Christie's had worldwide sales in the first half of 2013 that totalled £2.4 billion, up 9 per cent on the same period last year. This includes private sales of £465.2 million, a 13 per cent increase in the same time frame. Mr Kresler said a "pocket" of clients value a "bespoke, one-on-one transaction," but private sales were unlikely to ever overshadow auction sales. When Britain Went Pop! British Pop Art: The Early Years. 9 October - 24 November 2013 Christie's Mayfair, 103 New Bond Street, London www.christies.com