Name: Celia In A Polka Dot Skirt
Brand: David Hockney
Rating: 5 (236 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of David Hockney's Celia In A Polka Dot Skirt (signed) is estimated to be worth between £9,500 and £14,000. This lithograph print, created in 1980, has shown consistent value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 3%. This work has an auction history of four total sales since its entry to the market in October 2014. In the past 12 months, the average selling price was £9,815 across one sale. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 100.

Meaning & Analysis

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.