Name: Celia Making Tea
Brand: David Hockney
Rating: 5 (236 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of David Hockney’s Celia Making Tea (signed) is estimated to be worth between £9,500 and £14,500. This photographic print, created in 1982, has shown consistent value growth. Over the past 12 months, the average selling price was £10,000, with a total of 1 sale. In the last five years, the hammer price has varied from £10,000 in September 2019 to £24,000 in September 2022. The artwork has an auction history of 6 sales since its entry to the market in March 2012. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 20.

Meaning & Analysis

In this 1982 print we see Hockney experimenting with photo collage once again, this time choosing to put his focus on close friend and muse Celia Birtwell. After almost two decades of painting, drawing and printing her likeness here we see him trying to capture it through a lens, moved incrementally each time to create a composite image of an intimate scene. With its golden brown and yellow tones the image is suffused with warmth which is only heightened by the title, evoking the cosiness of close friendship. Birtwell is only shown in profile and we are denied a view of her striking features however we can recognise the curls of her hair and the long flowing dress of the kind she favours in many of Hockney’s portraits of her. She also appears to be deep in conversation with a figure who sits on a patterned bedspread, possibly waiting for the cup of tea. While this is one of Hockney’s more subtle photo collages it serves to demonstrate his fascination with perspective and perception. By taking multiple photographs of the same scene the artist was able to convey how his eyes ‘feel space’.