Celia In A Polka Dot Skirt
Signed Print

As with so many of Hockney’s portraits of his close friend and muse Celia Birtwell, the focus is centred as much on the sitter’s clothes as her expression or likeness. A fashion designer herself, Birtwell obviously paid close attention to her style and it is fascinating to see Hockney reproducing it so faithfully in print. The pair have enjoyed a close relationship for many decades and throughout the whole of Hockney’s oeuvre we can see Celia’s presence, charting the changes in fashion from the 60s to the 2000s as well as the growing intimacy of a relationship and the effects of aging. As with another lithograph from 1980, Celia In An Armchair, here we find Birtwell in a polka dot skirt. This time she has returned to the modernist chair in the style of Celia, 8365 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood and her legs are crossed as she looks away from the artist’s gaze. She also wears a pussybow blouse which gives the scene a little more formality. One arm is folded behind her head and with the other she raises her hand to her face, as if she is pensive. Her black high heels provide a punctum to the image, along with a splash of ink to her right.