Price data unavailable
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Lithograph
Edition size: 100
Year: 1980
Size: H 97cm x W 76cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
TradingFloor
Watch artwork, manage valuations, track your portfolio and return against your collection
Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 2019 | Phillips London | United Kingdom | |||
April 2016 | Sotheby's New York | United States | |||
October 2014 | Sotheby's New York | United States |
As with so many of Hockney’s portraits of his close friend and muse Celia Birtwell, the focus is centred as much on the sitter’s clothes as her expression or likeness. A fashion designer herself, Birtwell obviously paid close attention to her style and it is fascinating to see Hockney reproducing it so faithfully in print. The pair have enjoyed a close relationship for many decades and throughout the whole of Hockney’s oeuvre we can see Celia’s presence, charting the changes in fashion from the 60s to the 2000s as well as the growing intimacy of a relationship and the effects of aging. As with another lithograph from 1980, Celia In An Armchair, here we find Birtwell in a polka dot skirt. This time she has returned to the modernist chair in the style of Celia, 8365 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood and her legs are crossed as she looks away from the artist’s gaze. She also wears a pussybow blouse which gives the scene a little more formality. One arm is folded behind her head and with the other she raises her hand to her face, as if she is pensive. Her black high heels provide a punctum to the image, along with a splash of ink to her right.