Name: Byron On Hand
Brand: David Hockney
Rating: 5 (236 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of David Hockney's Byron On Hand (signed) is estimated to be worth between £2,550 and £3,850. This lithograph print, created in 1980, has shown consistent value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 6%. This work has an auction history of seven total sales since its entry to the market in July 2010. In the past five years, the hammer price has ranged from £2,125 in October 2022 to £3,260 in March 2023. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 60.

Meaning & Analysis

Byron On Hand (1980) is a signed lithographic print by David Hockney which was released in an edition size of 60. The print depicts the young son of Ann Graves, the artist’s lifelong friend, model, and longstanding LA-based studio assistant. A rare example of a children portrait in Hockney’s work, the print sees Byron Upton assuming a pensive pose, his head resting on the left hand, eyes oriented wistfully downwards. What may initially appear as a sign of weariness is, more likely, a reflection of an introspective moment. The boy appears pensive, his bodily language implying immersion in a private world of thoughts. Endowing the portrait with the dimension of intimacy and candour, such a demeanour makes the boy look unaware of the artist’s gaze.

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Hockney met Graves in 1960 when he was still a student at the Royal College of Art, and she features in many of his prints from 1962 onwards. Later, the artist would become close friends with David Graves, Ann’s husband, whom he met at the opening night of The Rake's Progress at the Glyndebourne Opera in 1975. As so many of Hockney’s portraits, Byron On Hand celebrates the close artistic and personal friendships while revealing the evolution of the artist’s style as he continually rediscovers the human subject through the art of portraiture.