Name: Small Study Of Lightning
Brand: David Hockney
Rating: 5 (236 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of David Hockney’s Small Study Of Lightning (signed) is estimated to be worth between £5,500 and £8,000. This lithograph print, created in 1973, has shown consistent value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 11%. This work has a strong auction history, having been sold 11 times at auction since its initial sale in June 2000. In the last five years, the hammer price has ranged from £4,227 to £6,176. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 75.

Meaning & Analysis

One of the more abstract works in The Weather series by David Hockney, Small Study Of Lightning shows a fork of lightning travelling through a mass of foreboding clouds in red and black. The fork is white where the ink has been left off the lithographic stone and is accompanied by a smaller bolt which appears like a thread running through the composition. The effect is extremely evocative, conveying Hockney’s curiosity about the different effects of weather on light and mood. The work is one of ten prints that make up The Weather series, each depicting a different atmospheric effect. The portfolio was published in 1973, just two years after Hockney’s trip to Japan where he had become hugely influenced by the work of Ukiyo-e masters such as Hiroshige and Hokusai who are known for their brilliant depictions of water and weather. Just as they did with the woodblock, here hockney pushes lithography to become as close to painting as possible, creating variations of tone and texture in order to produce this elegant study.