A Tune
A Tune
Signed Print
David Hockney
£2,550-£3,700
$4,800-$7,000 Value Indicator
$4,350-$6,500 Value Indicator
¥22,000-¥30,000 Value Indicator
€2,900-€4,250 Value Indicator
$25,000-$35,000 Value Indicator
¥430,000-¥620,000 Value Indicator
$3,200-$4,650 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Etching
Edition size: 200
Year: 1977
Size: H 35cm x W 43cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2020 | Swann Auction Galleries - United States | A Tune - Signed Print | |||
| June 2020 | Swann Auction Galleries - United States | A Tune - Signed Print | |||
| April 2018 | Forum Auctions London - United Kingdom | A Tune - Signed Print | |||
| May 2017 | Palm Beach Modern Auctions - United States | A Tune - Signed Print | |||
| March 2017 | Forum Auctions London - United Kingdom | A Tune - Signed Print | |||
| November 2011 | Cornette de Saint Cyr Paris - France | A Tune - Signed Print | |||
| October 2006 | Christie's London - United Kingdom | A Tune - Signed Print |
Meaning & Analysis
Composed of many disparate and often surreal elements, A Tune is a classic etching from David Hockney’s The Blue Guitar series in which the artist chose not to illustrate the poems of the same name by Wallace Stevens but instead present works that were “an interpretation of its themes in visual terms. Like the poem, they are about transformations within art as well as the relation between reality and the imagination, so these are pictures and different styles of representation juxtaposed and reflected and dissolved within the same frame”. In this particular etching we find a glass cabinet or table, with strange objects or sculptures arranged on top, which moves away from the traditional still life genre in Hockney’s oeuvre. To the left of the table a fissure appears in space, revealing a brick wall, although this could equally be read as a thin volcano. Further left still, a metal tower topped with mountains and clouds frames the scene. Here Hockney appears to be deliberately playful, experimenting with his new found technique of introducing more than one colour into the etching process to create fantastical scenes that are not constricted by subject matter or themes.
