A Moving Still Life
A Moving Still Life
Signed Print
David Hockney
£2,600-£3,900 VALUE (EST.)
$4,950-$7,500 VALUE (EST.)
$4,300-$6,500 VALUE (EST.)
¥23,000-¥35,000 VALUE (EST.)
€3,000-€4,500 VALUE (EST.)
$25,000-$35,000 VALUE (EST.)
¥470,000-¥710,000 VALUE (EST.)
$3,200-$4,800 VALUE (EST.)
This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren’t enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Etching, 1977
Signed Print Edition of 200
H 35cm x W 43cm
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2023 | Bonhams New Bond Street - United Kingdom | A Moving Still Life - Signed Print | |||
| October 2020 | Christie's New York - United States | A Moving Still Life - Signed Print | |||
| March 2020 | Christie's New York - United States | A Moving Still Life - Signed Print | |||
| December 2018 | Bonhams Knightsbridge - United Kingdom | A Moving Still Life - Signed Print | |||
| November 2018 | Swann Auction Galleries - United States | A Moving Still Life - Signed Print | |||
| February 2018 | Forum Auctions London - United Kingdom | A Moving Still Life - Signed Print | |||
| June 2015 | Bonhams Knightsbridge - United Kingdom | A Moving Still Life - Signed Print |
Meaning & Analysis
A Moving Still Life (1977) is a signed etching by David Hockney representing one of his many dialogues with the influential movements that shaped the history of modern art. In the vein of both surrealist and cubist artworks, the print brings together a display of geometrical forms, unrelated objects and colourful lines, questioning the idea of a faithful representation of reality in art. Hockney’s departure from naturalism around 1975 is said to have been inspired by his discovery of Wallace Stevens’ poem The Man With The Blue Guitar (1937) during a holiday on Fire Island. In it, Stevens explores the image of a man who ‘do[es] not play things as they are’. The central idea of the poem is the imaginative freedom, bringing to the forefront of art the subjective experience of reality instead of striving for a single, realistic viewpoint.
The display of geometrical forms towards the bottom of the image, an explicit reference to Cubism and Picasso’s fascination with fragmentation and abstraction, in particular signals Hockney’s need to embrace a new, imaginative vision. The artist commented in this context: “In a way, what I have been trying to move away from is a fixed viewpoint. Well, that kind of line drawing on the whole works because you feel it’s accurate, you feel the line has got the volume, or the line has got the person. The line is doing all the work. The viewer knows that. And somehow the way the line is used there I feel I’ve explored. I’d rather explore it another way now.”
