Meaning & Analysis

Celia Weary (1979) is a signed lithograph print by David Hockney depicting his lifelong friend and muse, Celia Birtwell, who left a lasting imprint on the ‘Swinging Sixties’ scene as a textile and fashion designer. Executed solely with black, thick lines, the portrait of the stylish icon strikes with minimalism that departs from the vibrant palette and bold experiments of Hockney’s later works. The lithograph’s sweeping brush strokes of ink vary in intensity, proving the artist’s style to be unflinchingly diverse while he returns to his favourite themes and subjects.

read more about Celia Birtwell

Although experimental from the outset of his career, Hockney has been consistent in considering his close acquaintances as the only appropriate subject for portraits. During the course of his fifty-year career, the artist produced only two commissioned portraits: Portrait Of Sir David Webster (1971) occasioned by the art administrator’s retirement as the General Administrator of the Royal Opera House in London and, over thirty years later, the watercolour portrait of Glydenbourne Festival Opera manager George Christie and his wife Patricia Mary Nicholson. The preference for portraying friends and relatives rather than strangers stems from Hockney’s desire to capture that which can only be accessed in the case of a close relationship with the sitter: the subtle currents of human emotions and intimacy.