Cacti On Terrace
Cacti On Terrace
Signed Print
David Hockney
POA
This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
Etching, 1998
Signed Print Edition of 35
H 92cm x W 86cm
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2011 | Christie's Paris - France | Cacti On Terrace - Signed Print |
Meaning & Analysis
While David Hockney has long been known for his interest in the natural world, especially the world of plants, this aquatint etching on wove paper is his first artwork to represent cacti. Cacti On Terrace depicts three types of cacti. Two of them are placed on a wooden table that occupies a central place in the print, and a smaller pot stands in the background on what appears to be a balcony railing. Since the creation of the etching in 1998, cacti have held a consistent presence in Hockney’s works. In the 1998 etching as well as in the 2003 watercolours, such as Cactus Garden III and Cactus Garden IV, the plants are key for Hockney’s composition of his distinctive, micro-scale vision of a personal paradise.
Throughout his career, Hockney has worked in etching, lithography, aquatint and intaglio techniques. The artist continually expanded his printmaking practice and collaborated with such influential printers as Ken Tyler, Maurice Payne, and Aldo Crommelynck. With his artistic output evolving from traditional methods of painting through to printmaking and recently, computer and iPad drawings, Hockney established himself as a versatile artist, constantly seeking new ways of seeing and depicting the environment close to him. To achieve a fine detail and precision of contour in Black Wire Plant, Hockney used such unconventional etching tools as wire wool. The print demonstrates Hockney’s inventive approach to printmaking and, thus, reaffirms his status among the rich lineage of artists, such as Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso who saw in printmaking a unique opportunity to achieve a new quality of the figurative image.
