“I always try to dress up for him”
—Celia Birtwell on modelling for David HockneyCelia in a Wicker Chair (1974) is one of the numerous images that David Hockney has produced of his close friend and muse, Celia Birtwell. Celia’s facial features are only very softly defined in this lithograph, cast into shadow by her voluminous golden hair. Her skin is ghostly white, but Hockney adds a vibrancy to his sitter through his depiction of her piercing blue eyes, which are outlined in a thick black line and stare directly out at the viewer. However, it is Celia’s boldly patterned and brightly coloured dress that takes centre stage in this lithograph. Rather than seeking to exactly replicate his model’s likeness, Hockney instead aims to portray other characteristics which more aptly capture the essence of his sitter. In this instance, he focuses on a love of pattern, for which Celia Birtwell is most well-known.
Celia Birtwell, 1988. Image: © Nick Tucker. All rights reserved 2022 / Bridgeman Images. Like Hockney, Birtwell was born in the North of England, and she moved to London to pursue her creative passions. She married Raymond ‘Ossie’ Clark, a fashion designer, in 1969 with David Hockney in attendance as Ossie’s best man. Birtwell had studied textile design, and she collaborated with Clark on many projects. Through their patterned silks and chiffons, they helped define the aesthetic of the Swinging Sixties. It was, as many have said, an almost perfect marriage of style. Despite divorcing Clark in 1974, Birtwell continued to produce textiles. In Celia in a Wicker Chair, Hockney uses her vibrant dress as a device through which to convey her personality, creativity, and occupation.
Literature
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo 158
Artist Biography
David Hockney
David Hockney (b. 1937) is one of the most well-known and celebrated artists of the
20th and 21st centuries. He works across many mediums, including painting, collage,
and more recently digitally, by creating print series on iPads. His works show semi-
abstract representations of domestic life, human relationships, floral, fauna, and the
changing of seasons.
Hockney has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Royal
Academy of Arts in London, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, among many
other institutions. On the secondary market, his work has sold for more than $90
million.
23
Celia in a Wicker Chair (M.C.A.T. 158)
1974
Etching and aquatint in colours, on BFK Rives paper, with full margins.
I. 68.4 x 54.4 cm (26 7/8 x 21 3/8 in.)
S. 91.5 x 75.4 cm (36 x 29 5/8 in.)
Signed, dated and numbered 56/60 in pencil (there were also 16 artist's proofs), published by Petersburg Press, New York and London, 1981, framed.
Estimate
£10,000 - 15,000 ‡♠
Sold for £11,340
Rebecca Tooby-Desmond
Specialist, Head of Sale, Editions
T +44 207 318 4079
M +44 7502 417366
rtooby-desmond@phillips.com
Robert Kennan
Head of Editions, Europe
T +44 207 318 4075
M +44 7824 994 784
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Anne Schneider-Wilson
Senior International Specialist, Editions
T +44 207 318 4042
M +44 7760 864 748
aschneider-wilson@phillips.com
Evening & Day Editions
London Auction 18 - 19 January 2023
168
This lot is no longer available.
300
This lot is no longer available.
