Straw On The Left, Gold On The Right
Signed Print

Two haystacks sit side by side, casting long shadows into empty space. But all is not as it seems. As the title of the print indicates, on the left is straw and on the right is spun gold. The scene is based on the story of Rumpelstiltskin, in which a miller boasts to a king that his daughter is capable of spinning straw into gold. The king takes her to a room of straw and orders her to get to work. After many fruitless attempts the girl is in despair, at which point Rumpelstiltskin appears and completes the impossible task in exchange for her necklace.The story escalates of course but here Hockney has chosen to focus on the bare piles of straw and gold, stripping the scene of its context and drama. In this way the work reflects what Hockney loved about the way the Brothers Grimm. Commenting on his attraction to this subject he said, “They're fascinating, the little stories, told in a very very simple, direct, straightforward language and style, it was this simplicity that attracted me. They cover quite a strange range of experience, from the magical to the moral.”