For The OZ Obscenity Fund
For The OZ Obscenity Fund
Signed Print
David Hockney
£1,900-£2,850
$3,800-$5,500 Value Indicator
$3,450-$5,000 Value Indicator
¥18,000-¥26,000 Value Indicator
€2,300-€3,450 Value Indicator
$19,000-$28,000 Value Indicator
¥370,000-¥550,000 Value Indicator
$2,450-$3,650 Value Indicator
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: 30
Year: 1971
Size: H 62cm x W 82cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2023 | Sotheby's Online | United Kingdom | |||
| May 2021 | Hall's Fine Art | United Kingdom | |||
| September 2019 | Christie's London | United Kingdom | |||
| March 2019 | Forum Auctions London | United Kingdom | |||
| May 2014 | Shapiro Auctioneers | Australia | |||
| November 2013 | Bonhams New Bond Street | United Kingdom | |||
| October 2005 | Bonhams New Bond Street | United Kingdom |
Meaning & Analysis
Throughout his fifty-year career, David Hockney has consistently returned to the theme of the male body in his works. By picturing male nudity in scenes of swimming, showering, or washing up, the artist challenged the underrepresentation of same-sex affection in art and popular culture. In this 1971 lithograph printed for the OZ Obscenity Fund, Hockney portrays the OZ magazine editors, Richard Neville, Jim Anderson, and Felix Dennis, either fully naked or undressed from the waist down. The idea behind this bold image was to celebrate the innocence of the naked body against the stigma of an unfair public accusation.
Originally from Australia, the OZ magazine became an important part of the UK counterculture when it launched in London in 1967. After a few years of the magazine’s presence within the city’s cultural scene, a group of young people aged between 14 and 18 was selected to edit the School Kids issue, which led to a series of articles revolving around the themes of education, sexual freedom, drug use and corporal punishment. As a result, the magazine was raided by the Obscene Publications Squad and its three editors were accused of conspiring to 'debauch and corrupt the morals of young children’. To render the male body subtle and innocent, Hockney uses crisp linear outlines against a plain, almost entirely muted background, similarly to his earlier works, such as Nude Male (1966) and Peter (1969). 30 of the prints for the OZ Obscenity Fund were auctioned to raise money and public awareness about the trial.
