Print Retrospective
Signed Print

In contrast to many of the earlier portraits of Celia Birtwell by David Hockney, in which the designer and muse appears as a carefree, playful figure, here we are presented with what seems like a haunted version of Birtwell. Pale and gaunt she turns away from the artist’s gaze, her face cast in shadow, her hair – usually a messy mop of curls – piled on top of her head, and somehow thinner, less full of life. As usual Birtwell is dressed impeccably but here her posture shows no signs of the confidence that brings her clothes to life in other portraits. Her shoulders are hunched as she seems slumped in her chair, her long skirt covering her legs that are awkwardly pressed together. Here there is none of the intimacy of earlier portraits and she appears to be an almost unwilling sitter, made uncomfortable by the intensity of the artist’s observation. Speaking of her experience of sitting for Hockney for the first time, Birtwell has said, “It was so tranquil but I was terrified of doing something wrong.” As she has aged, she has continued to be a model for his paintings, which has brought new hesitations. “It’s made me very wary!” She explained in an interview, “When I was young, the drawings were lovely. But as he says, we’re all getting older, so you’re going to see something that’s possibly quite, ‘Oh wow…’”