Celia Musing
Celia Musing
Signed Print
David Hockney
Price data unavailable
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
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Medium: Lithograph
Edition size: 100
Year: 1979
Size: H 104cm x W 75cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2019 | Christie's London | United Kingdom | |||
| April 2015 | Christie's New York | United States | |||
| June 2014 | Uppsala Auktionskammare | Sweden | |||
| February 2012 | Cowan's Cincinnati | United States | |||
| April 2011 | Bonhams New Bond Street | United Kingdom |
Meaning & Analysis
One of the more staged portraits in the 1979 Gemini series, this depiction of Hockney’s close friend and muse Celia Birtwell shows the young textile designer wearing a suit and heels. The sense of artifice is emphasised with the inclusion of a still life, recalling so called ‘swagger portraits’ and yet subverting the genre by the lack of ornament in both style and subject. Hockney painted and sketched Celia many times throughout his career and she is the subject – along with her husband Ossie Clark and her cat Percy – of one of Hockney’s most famous paintings. She appears in the 1979 Gemini portfolio seven times in various poses and outfits, as if Hockney were producing a number of quick, sketchy studies before producing a finished portrait. Speaking of his love for the designer as both friend and subject Hockney has said, “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.”
