Bidspirit auction | David Hockney ”Tulips” Etching &

David Hockney ”Tulips” Etching & Aquatint 1973 - David Hockney (English, 1937-2026). Etching and aquatint on paper print titled ”Tulips, ” 1973. Depicting five blooming tulips arranged in a textured vase. Pencil signed, dated, and blindstamped along the lower right; pencil editioned 49/75 along the lower left. Provenance: Peter M. David Gallery Inc, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Private Florida Collection. Lot essay: Considered one of the most influential and defining figures in contemporary art, David Hockney's seven-decade artistic career and prolific oeuvre are characterized by his intellectual and innovative ability to depict the world around him. Born in 1937, Hockney grew up in Yorkshire, England, and received his artistic training at the Bradford College of Art and the Royal College of Art. He graduated from the latter in 1962 after taking a controversial stance by refusing to write a graduation essay, claiming that his art spoke for itself. He emerged from his early training with a Gold medal distinction and was viewed as one of the seminal talents in the new generation of British artists. The 1960s marked a shift in Hockney's art towards figuration, linear mark-making, and naturalistic double portraits. Greatly inspired by his move to Los Angeles, Hockney created his iconic Pop art renderings of the Southern Californian lifestyle, documenting Los Angeles's seductive charm from his perspective as an outsider. Concurrently, Hockney began his enduring contributions to opera and theater in the mid-1960s. His comprehensive stage designs often involved intense periods of concentration, sometimes lasting more than a year for a single production. Many of his designs, spanning ten opera and ballet productions, are regarded as the definitive visual interpretation and remain in performance rotation decades after their debut. Following his experimentation with ”reverse perspective” artworks and Cubist photography in the 1970s-1980s, Hockney continued to expand his practice. In the late 1990s, Hockney turned his attention to art history, studying the optical devices employed by Western artists beginning in the 15th century. His practical insight as a master draftsman allowed him to spot visual evidence missed by traditional academics, culminating in his influential 2001 book titled ”Secret Knowledge.” In the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Hockney returned home to Yorkshire. The following decade was marked by a renewed dedication to painting the natural landscape surrounding him, resulting in the creation of extensive en plein air watercolor, oil, and multi-canvas oil paintings. With a career spanning over 400 solo exhibitions, Hockney is celebrated for his innovative artworks across diverse mediums. A prime example of his global reach was his 80th-birthday retrospective in 2017, which traveled to Paris's Centre Pompidou, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Beyond his artwork, Hockney has also achieved success as a teacher, theorist, and author of several acclaimed monographs. Following a celebrated career, David Hockney passed away in 2026. Sight; height: 27 3/4 in x width: 21 3/4 in. Framed; height: 38 1/4 in x width: 30 1/4 in x depth: 3/4 in. Condition: There are no tears or losses. Light undulation to the sheet, primarily along the lower half of the work. Scattered areas of very light foxing, only noticeable upon close inspection. Small areas of very light soiling along the lower right quadrant. There are two residual linen tape hinges along the upper edge of the verso. Floated in frame under a nonacidic mat. Framed under plexiglass. Light wear to frame.