Name: Parade
Brand: David Hockney
Rating: 5 (236 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of David Hockney's Parade (signed), created in 1977, is estimated to be worth between £1,750 and £2,650. This intaglio print has shown consistent value growth, with an auction history of 15 total sales since its entry to the market in June 2000. Over the past five years, the hammer price has ranged from £1,492 in October 2023 to £3,078 in October 2021. The average annual growth rate of this artwork is 9%. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 200.

Meaning & Analysis

A figure sits on a chair on top of a rudimentary kind of chariot. Beside him is another figure who could be a conductor, above his head floats a blue guitar. He faces a series of strange shapes that seem neither entirely geometric or organic. The sky or ceiling seems to be falling into the scene and yet the composition is serene, perhaps because of its soft lines and tones. Below the chair a mess of tumbleweed made up of wiry red lines travels past and draws our eye to the bars of music at the bottom of the sheet. While we cannot hear the melody denoted by the sheet music it too adds an element of calmness to the scene which could otherwise be framed by a kind of discord or juxtaposition. This enigmatic scene is part of David Hockney's 1976-77 series The Blue Guitar which was inspired by Wallace Stevens’s 1937 poem of the same name, which was in turn inspired by Picasso’s 1903 painting – one of the most famous from his Blue Period – The Old Guitarist. The title of this work, Parade, could also be read as a reference to the ballet of the same name by Jean Cocteau and Eric Satie for which Picasso designed the set and costumes.