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I Say They Are - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker

I Say They Are
Signed Print

David Hockney

£2,250-£3,400Value Indicator

$4,700-$7,000 Value Indicator

$4,200-$6,500 Value Indicator

¥22,000-¥35,000 Value Indicator

€2,600-€3,950 Value Indicator

$24,000-$35,000 Value Indicator

¥440,000-¥670,000 Value Indicator

$3,050-$4,650 Value Indicator

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34 x 42cm, Edition of 200, Etching

Medium: Etching

Edition size: 200

Year: 1977

Size: H 34cm x W 42cm

Signed: Yes

Format: Signed Print

Last Auction: May 2025

Value Trend:

11% AAGR

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

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Auction Results

Auction Date
Auction House
Location
Return to Seller
Hammer Price
Buyer Paid
May 2025
SBI Art Auction
Japan
$2,400
$2,800
$3,250
February 2025
Rago
United States
October 2024
Rago
United States
September 2022
Phillips London
United Kingdom
January 2022
Phillips London
United Kingdom
January 2020
Skinner, Boston
United States
October 2019
Rosebery's Fine Art Auctioneers
United Kingdom
MyPortfolio
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The value of David Hockney's I Say They Are, a signed etching from 1977, is estimated to be worth between £2,250 and £3,400. This artwork has shown consistent value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 11%. There have been 15 total sales since its entry to the market in April 2001. Over the past 12 months, the hammer price has ranged from £2,000 in October 2024 to £3,800 in January 2022, with a total of 3 sales. The edition size of this work is limited to 200.

Created with Highcharts 11.4.8Oct 2019Sep 2020Aug 2021Jul 2022Jul 2023Jun 2024May 2025$2,000$2,250$2,500$2,750$3,000$3,250$3,500© MyArtBroker

Meaning & Analysis

I Say They Are features disparate elements thrown together in a striking composition in order to highlight their discordance. While mostly made up of monochrome line drawings, the work is dominated by four drips of ink in red, blue, yellow, green and black that appear like melting olympic rings above the fuzzy rug that marks the floor of the scene. Here Hockney appears to be experimenting not just with juxtaposition but the technique of sugar lift aquatint which he learned in Paris while under the tutelage of Aldo Crommelynck who had been Picasso's master printer.

While previously his etchings had been mostly monochrome, with perhaps the odd dab of red ink in series such as A Rake’s Progress, with The Blue Guitar we see Hockney creating softly coloured scenes from a much wider palette. Blue of course dominates, but here the colours are fairly equally distributed and heavily saturated, moving away from the more tonal works in the series. Reflecting on these strange compositions, Hockney said that the prints in the series were never intended to illustrate the poem of the same name by Stevens. Instead, he explained, ‘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’.

  • 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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