The Market's Most Wanted 2023

The
Blue Guitar

David Hockney’s The Blue Guitar etchings echo narrative threads from Wallace Stevens' 1936 poem, The Man with the Blue Guitar, and the 1903 Picasso painting, The Old Guitarist, which it was inspired by. Drawing thematic rather than narrative threads from the poem, Hockney represents them in a style inspire by Picasso, resulting in a series of uncanny dreamscapes and prints.

David Hockney prints for sale

A Moving Still Life - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
A Moving Still Life 
David HockneySigned Print 

£3,900-£6,000Value Indicator

$7,500-$11,500 Value Indicator

$6,500-$10,500 Value Indicator

¥35,000-¥50,000 Value Indicator

4,550-7,000 Value Indicator

$40,000-$60,000 Value Indicator

¥730,000-¥1,120,000 Value Indicator

$4,950-$7,500 Value Indicator

77% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

2 in network
The Blue Guitar (frontispiece) - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
The Blue Guitar (frontispiece) 
David HockneySigned Print 

£1,850-£2,750Value Indicator

$3,550-$5,500 Value Indicator

$3,150-$4,700 Value Indicator

¥17,000-¥25,000 Value Indicator

2,150-3,200 Value Indicator

$18,000-$27,000 Value Indicator

¥340,000-¥510,000 Value Indicator

$2,350-$3,450 Value Indicator

3% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 in network
Parade - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
Parade 
David HockneySigned Print 

£1,550-£2,350Value Indicator

$2,950-$4,500 Value Indicator

$2,650-$4,000 Value Indicator

¥14,000-¥21,000 Value Indicator

1,800-2,750 Value Indicator

$15,000-$23,000 Value Indicator

¥290,000-¥440,000 Value Indicator

$1,950-$3,000 Value Indicator

TradingFloor

1 in network
On It May Stay His Eye - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
On It May Stay His Eye 
David HockneySigned Print 

£3,250-£4,900Value Indicator

$6,000-$9,500 Value Indicator

$5,500-$8,500 Value Indicator

¥29,000-¥45,000 Value Indicator

3,750-5,500 Value Indicator

$30,000-$50,000 Value Indicator

¥610,000-¥920,000 Value Indicator

$4,100-$6,000 Value Indicator

29% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 in network
Franco-American Mail - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
Franco-American Mail 
David HockneySigned Print 

£2,250-£3,400Value Indicator

$4,300-$6,500 Value Indicator

$3,850-$6,000 Value Indicator

¥20,000-¥30,000 Value Indicator

2,650-3,950 Value Indicator

$22,000-$35,000 Value Indicator

¥420,000-¥630,000 Value Indicator

$2,850-$4,300 Value Indicator

14% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 in network
Figures With Still Life - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
Figures With Still Life 
David HockneySigned Print 

£1,650-£2,450Value Indicator

$3,150-$4,700 Value Indicator

$2,800-$4,200 Value Indicator

¥15,000-¥22,000 Value Indicator

1,950-2,850 Value Indicator

$16,000-$24,000 Value Indicator

¥310,000-¥450,000 Value Indicator

$2,100-$3,100 Value Indicator

-3% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 in network
A Picture Of Ourselves - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
A Picture Of Ourselves 
David HockneySigned Print 

£1,850-£2,800Value Indicator

$3,550-$5,500 Value Indicator

$3,150-$4,800 Value Indicator

¥17,000-¥25,000 Value Indicator

2,150-3,250 Value Indicator

$18,000-$28,000 Value Indicator

¥340,000-¥520,000 Value Indicator

$2,350-$3,550 Value Indicator

-6% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 in network
What Is This Picasso - Signed Print by David Hockney 1976 - MyArtBroker
What Is This Picasso 
David HockneySigned Print 

£8,000-£12,000Value Indicator

$15,000-$23,000 Value Indicator

$13,500-$21,000 Value Indicator

¥70,000-¥110,000 Value Indicator

9,500-14,000 Value Indicator

$80,000-$120,000 Value Indicator

¥1,490,000-¥2,230,000 Value Indicator

$10,000-$15,000 Value Indicator

31% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 in network
I Say They Are - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
I Say They Are 
David HockneySigned Print 

£3,100-£4,650Value Indicator

$6,000-$9,000 Value Indicator

$5,500-$8,000 Value Indicator

¥28,000-¥40,000 Value Indicator

3,600-5,500 Value Indicator

$30,000-$45,000 Value Indicator

¥580,000-¥870,000 Value Indicator

$3,950-$6,000 Value Indicator

8% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 want this
In A Chiaroscuro - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
In A Chiaroscuro 
David HockneySigned Print 

£3,300-£4,950Value Indicator

$6,500-$9,500 Value Indicator

$5,500-$8,500 Value Indicator

¥30,000-¥45,000 Value Indicator

3,850-6,000 Value Indicator

$35,000-$50,000 Value Indicator

¥610,000-¥920,000 Value Indicator

$4,150-$6,500 Value Indicator

18% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 want this
Tick It, Tock It, Turn It True - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
Tick It, Tock It, Turn It True 
David HockneySigned Print 

£2,400-£3,600Value Indicator

$4,600-$7,000 Value Indicator

$4,100-$6,000 Value Indicator

¥22,000-¥35,000 Value Indicator

2,800-4,200 Value Indicator

$24,000-$35,000 Value Indicator

¥450,000-¥670,000 Value Indicator

$3,050-$4,550 Value Indicator

20% AAGR (5YR)
The Poet - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
The Poet 
David HockneySigned Print 

£2,750-£4,150Value Indicator

$5,000-$8,000 Value Indicator

$4,700-$7,000 Value Indicator

¥25,000-¥35,000 Value Indicator

3,200-4,850 Value Indicator

$27,000-$40,000 Value Indicator

¥510,000-¥770,000 Value Indicator

$3,450-$5,000 Value Indicator

22% AAGR (5YR)
The Old Guitarist - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
The Old Guitarist 
David HockneySigned Print 

£5,500-£8,000Value Indicator

$10,500-$15,000 Value Indicator

$9,500-$13,500 Value Indicator

¥50,000-¥70,000 Value Indicator

6,500-9,500 Value Indicator

$50,000-$80,000 Value Indicator

¥1,020,000-¥1,490,000 Value Indicator

$7,000-$10,000 Value Indicator

17% AAGR (5YR)
The Blue Guitar (complete portfolio) - Signed Print by David Hockney 1976 - MyArtBroker
The Blue Guitar (complete portfolio) 
David HockneySigned Print 

£35,000-£50,000Value Indicator

$70,000-$100,000 Value Indicator

$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator

¥310,000-¥450,000 Value Indicator

40,000-60,000 Value Indicator

$340,000-$490,000 Value Indicator

¥6,490,000-¥9,270,000 Value Indicator

$45,000-$60,000 Value Indicator

4% AAGR (5YR)
Serenade - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
Serenade 
David HockneySigned Print 

£3,300-£4,950Value Indicator

$6,500-$9,500 Value Indicator

$5,500-$8,500 Value Indicator

¥30,000-¥45,000 Value Indicator

3,850-6,000 Value Indicator

$35,000-$50,000 Value Indicator

¥610,000-¥920,000 Value Indicator

$4,200-$6,500 Value Indicator

14% AAGR (5YR)
Made In April - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
Made In April 
David HockneySigned Print 

£2,150-£3,250Value Indicator

$4,100-$6,000 Value Indicator

$3,700-$5,500 Value Indicator

¥19,000-¥29,000 Value Indicator

2,500-3,800 Value Indicator

$21,000-$30,000 Value Indicator

¥400,000-¥600,000 Value Indicator

$2,700-$4,100 Value Indicator

8% AAGR (5YR)
It Picks Its Way - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
It Picks Its Way 
David HockneySigned Print 

£1,700-£2,550Value Indicator

$3,250-$4,850 Value Indicator

$2,900-$4,350 Value Indicator

¥15,000-¥23,000 Value Indicator

2,000-3,000 Value Indicator

$17,000-$25,000 Value Indicator

¥320,000-¥480,000 Value Indicator

$2,150-$3,250 Value Indicator

16% AAGR (5YR)
Etching Is The Subject - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
Etching Is The Subject 
David HockneySigned Print 

£2,100-£3,150Value Indicator

$4,000-$6,000 Value Indicator

$3,600-$5,500 Value Indicator

¥19,000-¥29,000 Value Indicator

2,450-3,700 Value Indicator

$21,000-$30,000 Value Indicator

¥390,000-¥590,000 Value Indicator

$2,650-$4,000 Value Indicator

5% AAGR (5YR)
Discord Merely Magnifies - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
Discord Merely Magnifies 
David HockneySigned Print 

£2,900-£4,350Value Indicator

$5,500-$8,500 Value Indicator

$4,950-$7,500 Value Indicator

¥26,000-¥40,000 Value Indicator

3,400-5,000 Value Indicator

$29,000-$45,000 Value Indicator

¥540,000-¥810,000 Value Indicator

$3,700-$5,500 Value Indicator

19% AAGR (5YR)
A Tune - Signed Print by David Hockney 1977 - MyArtBroker
A Tune 
David HockneySigned Print 

£2,300-£3,450Value Indicator

$4,400-$6,500 Value Indicator

$3,950-$6,000 Value Indicator

¥21,000-¥30,000 Value Indicator

2,700-4,050 Value Indicator

$23,000-$35,000 Value Indicator

¥430,000-¥640,000 Value Indicator

$2,900-$4,400 Value Indicator

9% AAGR (5YR)

Sell Your Art
with Us

Join Our Network of Collectors. Buy, Sell and Track Demand

Submission takes less than 2 minutes & there's zero obligation to sell
The Only Dedicated Print Market IndexTracking 48,500 Auction HistoriesSpecialist Valuations at the Click of a Button Build Your PortfolioMonitor Demand & Supply in Network Sell For Free to our 25,000 Members

Meaning & Analysis

Drawing visual inspiration from Picasso, Hockney’s The Blue Guitar etchings are based on Wallace Stevens’ 1936 poem, The Man with the Blue Guitar. It was here that he came across Wallace Stevens’s 1936 poemThe Man with the Blue Guitar which had been inspired by a 1903 painting by Picasso entitled The Old Guitarist. Hockney decided to base a series of works on the poems and described how the “etchings themselves were not conceived as literal illustrations of the poem but as an interpretation of its themes in visual terms. Like the poem, they are about transformations within art as well as the relation between reality and the imagination, so these are pictures and different styles of representation juxtaposed and reflected and dissolved within the same frame”.

Hockney had adored Picasso since he first saw his paintings in a retrospective at the Tate in 1960 which he visited eight times. In 1973, when Picasso died, Hockney was invited to contribute to a series of prints inspired by the painter and he ended up going to Paris to work under the tutelage of Aldo Crommelynck, Picasso's master printer. It was in Crommelynck’s studio that Hockney learned to use the sugar lift aquatint technique which was favoured by Picasso to create coloured etchings such as those in the present series.

As well as adopting Picasso’s printmaking technique for this portfolio, Hockney also tried the Cubist perspective on for size in a move that would inform much of his later work, including series such as Moving Focus and his photo collages. In this way he demonstrates his fluency in the languages of style and printmaking, cherry picking from earlier movements and masters to invent something entirely new. Speaking on this ability, critic Gert Schiff said, “The history of art is a history of appropriations. [Hockney] has been able to adapt his reading of Picasso's art to his own very different representational problems and has thereby created works that are fresh, innovative, and personal.”