1976-77
Etching with aquatint on paper
52.5 x 46 cm
Edition of 200Hand-signed
From the popular The Blue Guitar series
Printed in New York and published in London in 1976-77
Hand-signed and numbered in pencil by Hockney
Unframed and stored flat
 
A rare etching from Hockney’s popular The Blue Guitar series, depicting a still life with the addition of a grid and an abstract figure on stage with a curtain to add intrigue and an ambiguous element to the print. Since the early 1960s, Hockney sought ways to meld his modern aesthetic style with highly personalised subject matter. Inspired by Wallace Stevens’s “The Man with the Blue Guitar”, Hockney made 10 drawings in coloured inks and crayons and, with the aid of master printer Aldo Crommelynck, who had previously worked with Picasso, converted them into 20 mixed intaglio prints using a colour-etching process.
 
David Hockney (born 1937) is one of the most influential 20th century British artists. He has explored a diverse range of techniques over the years including painting, printmaking, drawing, set design, videography, photography and digital art. He was an innovative printmaker with technology early in his career which has gained recent traction again drawing on his iPhone and iPad. Hockney explores everything from still life and domestic scenes to portraits and landscapes, whilst also addressing themes in his own life such as sexuality. Hockney’s style is iconic and recognisable with its warm feeling and lively, colourful palette. In 2018, Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) became the most expensive artwork by a living artist to be sold at auction when it sold in New York for $90 million. Hockney’s work is held in countless international collections and museums.
 
Images are for illustrative purposes only, please get in touch to discuss framing options.