David Hockney
Celia, 1984
Charcoal on paper, 74.9 x 55.9 cm (29.5 x 22 in),
Initialled and dated transparent background
Provenance
LA Louver, Los Angeles
Private Collection, USA
Private collection, Canada
Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Acquired from the above by the present owner
About Celia Birtwell – a familiar Hockney subject:
Celia Birtwell is one of the most iconic textile designers in British fashion history. Born in Greater Manchester, she was educated at Salford Technical College and in 1961 she moved to Bohemian London where she met David Hockney who was clearly on the brink of success. She knew Hockney’s then companion Peter Schlesinger well and became a close friend and muse to the artist after they separated in 1971.
Birtwell first sat for Hockney in 1969 and as many as 80 times subsequently, appearing in approximately a quarter of his entire printed portraiture oeuvre. Hockney captured Birtwell through the years, tracing their long and enduring relationship and reflecting the artist’s loyalty to lifelong friends. Hockney expressed a great fondness for his friend when he said ‘Celia has a beautiful face, a very rare face with lots of things in it which appeal to me. It shows aspects of her, like her intuitive knowledge and her kindness, which I think are the greatest virtue. To me she’s such a special person…’ Hockney’s intention with his portraiture was to capture not only likeness, but something of deeper psychological significance, stating ‘Portraits aren’t just made up of drawing; they are made up of other insights as well. Celia is one of the few girls I know really well. I’ve drawn her so many times and knowing her makes it always slightly different. I don’t bother getting the likeness in her face because I know it so well. She has many faces and I think if you looked through all the drawings I’ve done of her, you’d see that they don’t look alike.’ Most importantly for Hockney, ‘It’s [the sitter’s] mood and your mood together that creates whatever’s there’.
Each portrait of Birtwell conveys a specific psychological profile punctuating the life of the sitter. Indeed, Birtwell remarked of the portraits that ‘just like perfume can transport you to another place, looking at them takes me right back to that moment when we were still so young.’
Birtwell was one of five subjects who appeared in works exhibited as part of ‘Drawing from Life’ at the National Portrait Gallery in 2020. She also famously appears in a double portrait with her then husband Ossie Clark titled ‘Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy’, 1971 which is one of the most viewed pieces at the Tate Gallery. In 2005 it was shortlisted for the “The Greatest British Painting” on the BBC’s Today Programme. Spanning a quarter of a century, Hockney created an intimate visual record between the two close companions honouring both the process of change, as well as deep continuity and consistency that define one’s identity and relationships through the passage of time. Indeed, this work can and should be compared to other portraits of his friend and muse where both subtle and notable changes in the vestiges of her physiology are depicted. Moreover, by looking at these portraits we are able to track the evolution of Hockney’s style and appreciate his vigorously experimental work ethic, constantly mastering new mediums and techniques.
