Joe Macdonald
Signed Print

Showing a well dressed man sitting confidently in a modernist armchair, his expression at once stern, at once thoughtful, this portrait of the model Joe Macdonald is a beautifully considered lithograph by his close friend David Hockney. Included in the 1976 Friends portfolio it shows Macdonald at rest and yet his psoe is slightly stiff, a feeling that is heightened by certain details such as the sharp crease of his trousers and the formality of his neck tie which contrasts with some of looser style and attire of other portraits in the series such as Henry Reading the Newspaper. Beside the chair is a coffee table on which a bottle of Vichy water can be found, a nod to the still life genre that Hockney includes in almost every portrait in the series. While other compositions include elegant floral displays or other eye-catching props, this humble water bottle feels like a casual addition, as if it was forgotten and was naturally included in the scene. With hands clasped together Macdonald could be simply waiting for an appointment, passing through Hockney’s studio – temporarily set up at the Gemini workshop – as part of a busy day.