Celia In A Wicker Chair
Signed Print

A long blue peignoir covered in a tropical pattern steals the scene in this striking portrait of Celia Birtwell by David Hockney. The designer and muse appears a little déshabillé as she looks out at us from a mess of curls and yet her pose is confident, her arms calmly sitting on the armrest of the green wicker tub chair, her legs nonchalantly crossed. While she appears to have just left the bedroom her shoes, with their chunky high heels, suggests she is dressed up. The shoes also provide an interesting contrast to the delicacy of the rattan which Hockney has picked out in an almost pencil-like line and the watery tones of Birtwell’s face. Her eyes gaze defiantly out at us, recalling the confident Celia of Celia, 8365 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, and seeming a million miles away from the cosy intimacy of Celia In An Armchair. One of the most iconic textile designers in British fashion history, Birtwell rose to fame alongside Hockney in the ’60s and ’70s when her bright colourful prints were highly in demand from fashion designers. Here we see her talent for wearing clothes as well as designing them as Hockney faithfully represents her unique sense of style.