David Hockney
1937 - 2026
Celia Observing. 1976.
Etching in colors with aquatint, spot mounted on cardboard.
Signed, dated, and numbered. From an edition of 60 copies. On BFK Rives wove paper (with the watermark). 68.5 x 54.5 cm (26.9 x 21.4 in). Sheet: 90,5 x 75 cm (35,6 x 29,5 in).
Published by Petersburg Press, London. [KA].

• A refined portrait in David Hockney’s masterful and unmistakable graphic style.
• In addition to his painting, Hockney is also a versatile and experimental printmaker.
• The portrait depicts Celia Birtwell, the wife of Hockney’s longtime friend, fashion designer Ossie Clark.
• Hockney’s works are held in major collections of contemporary art, including the Tate Gallery in London, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

PROVENANCE: Private collection, Southern Germany (acquired from Galerie Tanit, Munich, in 1981).
In the family’s possession ever since.

The portrait depicts Celia Birtwell, the wife of Hockney’s longtime friend and fashion designer Ossie Clark. The two were celebrated figures in the London fashion scene in the 1970s. Celia, a textile designer, posed for Hockney on many occasions.
"Celia has a beautiful face, a very rare face with lots of things in it which appeal to me. It shows aspects of her, like her intuitive knowledge and her kindness which I think is the greatest virtue. To me she's such a special person.. Portraits aren't just made up of drawing, they are made up of other insights as well. Celia is one of the few girls I know really well. I've drawn her so many times and knowing her makes it always slightly different. I don't bother getting the likeness in her face because I know it so well. She has many faces and I think if you looked through all the drawings I've done of her, you'd see that they don't look alike."
David Hockney, quoted from: "Notes on Sitters", David Hockney Portraits, ex. cat. National Portrait Gallery, London 2006, p. 22

In good condition. The sheet is overall slightly wavy and has very few tiny brown spots. There are isolated faint handling marks along the edges, as well as a tiny crease from pressure in the center of the top edge. The upper corners of the sheet are spot-mounted on the backing cardboard, with slight pressure marks visible on the reverse side.
For information concerning the condition, please view the high resolution image / backside image.