Henry Geldzahler With Hat
Signed Print

In 1976 Hockney collaborated with master printer Kenneth Tyler of the Gemini print studio in LA to produce a portfolio of portraits of his friends. Working in lithography meant that the works have less of the immediacy of earlier etchings, however there is no less intimacy. While many of the prints feel polished and painterly this portrait of illustrious curator Henry Geldzahler – one of four in the series – is rendered in a looser style which is closer to Hockney’s quick sketches or other portraits that lie outside this series. The work also stands out in this portfolio for its lack of a fleshed out background or setting. While most of the portraits also include a still life or a detail of a chair or rug, here we are presented with Geldzahler’s figure in a closely cropped composition, with just a simple grid of tiles behind him. Despite the relative economy of line and background however, Hockney does not spare any detail in Geldzahler’s face or clothing. Our eye is immediately drawn to the curls of his beard, the flourish of his bow tie and the stripes of his shirt in this sensitive and intimate portrait.