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According To Prescriptions Of Ancient Magicians - Signed Print by David Hockney 1966 - MyArtBroker

According To Prescriptions Of Ancient Magicians
Signed Print

David Hockney

£2,300-£3,500Value Indicator

$4,800-$7,500 Value Indicator

$4,250-$6,500 Value Indicator

¥22,000-¥35,000 Value Indicator

2,650-4,050 Value Indicator

$25,000-$40,000 Value Indicator

¥450,000-¥690,000 Value Indicator

$3,150-$4,800 Value Indicator

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35 x 22cm, Etching

Medium: Etching
Year: 1966
Size: H 35cm x W 22cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
Last Auction: April 2025
Value Trend:
4% AAGR

AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

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1 in network
9 want this
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Auction Results

Auction Date
Auction House
Location
Return to Seller
Hammer Price
Buyer Paid
April 2025
Rosebery's Fine Art Auctioneers
United Kingdom
N/A
N/A
N/A
November 2023
Stockholms Auction House
Sweden
September 2023
Bonhams Knightsbridge
United Kingdom
June 2023
Bonhams New Bond Street
United Kingdom
September 2019
Quittenbaum
Germany
May 2019
Wright
United States
December 2004
Lempertz, Cologne
Germany
MyPortfolio
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Track auction value trend

The value of David Hockney’s signed etching, According To Prescriptions Of Ancient Magicians, is estimated to be worth between £2,300 and £3,500. This work has shown consistent value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 4%. This piece has an auction history of 9 total sales since its entry to the market on 18th November 2003. Over the past 12 months, the average selling price was £2,400, across 1 sale. In the last five years, the hammer price has ranged from £2,000 in September 2023 to £3,200 in June 2023. The average return to the seller over this period was £2,096. The edition size of this artwork is not currently available.

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Meaning & Analysis

In According To The Formulas Of Ancient Greco-Syrian Magicians (1931), one of Cavafy’s last poems that inspired the etching, a man longs to be reunited with the lover of his youth, wishing for a potion to move him back in time and “bring back the age of twenty-three again; bring my friend at twenty-two years old back [to me] again – his beauty, his love.’’ The drawing of two men in bed presented in the print was copied onto the etching plate from Boys In Bed, Beirut, an ink drawing of Hockney’s friends made in London.

The etching captures the evolution of Hockney’s approach to the themes of eroticism and same-sex desire. Having debuted as an artist before homosexual acts between men were legalized in England and Wales in 1967, Hockney started with a subtle and rather indirect way of representing gay love. We Two Boys Together Clinging (1961), an early painting inspired by Walt Whitman’s poem of the same title, engages with intimacy and eroticism through subtle symbols and highly abstracted representation. Preceding the artist’s bold nude portraits of his lovers including Gregory Evans, the Cavafy illustrations represent the gradual evolution of Hockney’s idiom.

  • British-born artist David Hockney is a kaleidoscopic force in the art world. Born in 1937, Hockney's vibrant palette and innovative techniques have left an indelible mark on contemporary art. A pioneer of the British Pop Art movement in the 1960s, he seamlessly transitioned through various styles, from photo collages to vivid landscapes. Renowned for his exploration of light and space, Hockney's versatility extends to painting, printmaking, photography, and stage design. A captivating storyteller, his works often capture the essence of modern life with a playful yet profound touch. With a career spanning decades, Hockney remains an enduring visionary in the ever-evolving art world.

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