Description:
David Hockney (British, b. 1937)
Caribbean Tea Time, from the series Moving Focus, 1985-87, edition of 36 plus proofs, published by Tyler Graphics, Ltd., Mount Kisco, New York (MCA Tokyo, 288). Numbered and signed "AP VII/X David Hockney" in pencil on right-most panel l.c. Color lithograph with hand-coloring and collage on eight sheets of TGL handmade paper, assembled together in a four-panel, folding, contoured, lacquered, and hand-painted wood floor screen, with four screenprinted plastic panels on the reverse, all designed by the artist, full size 86 x 136 in. (218.4 x 345.5 cm).
Condition: Deckled edges and floated as originally presented by the artist, areas of cracking/loss to frame, several rubs to Plexiglas, screenprinted panels somewhat yellowed.
Provenance: A private Massachusetts collection.
N.B. Hockney is a virtual jack-of-all-trades, embracing both traditional and newer media - from acrylic paint to PhotoShop - and working as a painter, print-maker, photographer, and even a set designer. He is considered one of Britain's most dominant Pop artists, although it is a categorization that he dislikes.
From 1984 through 1987 Hockney created the series Moving Focus. What makes this series of twenty-nine prints unusual is the seeming disconnect of the subjects of the works. They include interior views, portraits, and still lifes, and vary wildly in size. The title of the series discloses the unifying principal: each plays with the depiction of space and the potential for multiple points of view. The series has been described as "Hockney's dialogue with Picasso."
Caribbean Tea Time employs simple lines and blocks of bright, saturated color to depict an interior with a shifting, Cubist space that is both highly descriptive and playfully vertiginous. The sense is heightened by the scale of the work, and the fact that as a floor screen, it is generally viewed accordioned rather than flat so that our space and the screen's interpenetrate.
Estimate $40,000-60,000
The losses to the surface of the frame are primarily along the outer top edges, the largest loss measuring 7 inches long by 3/4 inch wide. There are also areas with tenting to the painted frame surface. The wood exposed by the surface losses is in good condition.
There is some minor rippling to the paper edges in the top sheet in the second panel from the left.
The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
Keywords
Tyler Graphics Ltd., Tea Time, Mount Kisco, United KingdomStephen L. Fletcher
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American & European Works of Art
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