Details

Artist: David Hockney (British, b. 1937) (1937 - )
Title: Number One Chair, from Moving Focus, 1985
Series: Moving Focus, 1984
Medium: Lithograph in colors on TGL handmade paper.
Image Size: 22 1/8 x 18 3/4 in (55.9 x 47.6 cm)
Sheet Size: 22 1/8 x 18 3/4 in (55.9 x 47.6 cm)
Edition: Numbered from the edition of 60 in pencil in the lower left.
Signature: This work is hand signed by David Hockney (Bradford 1937-) in pencil in the lower right.
Item # W-101985

Historical Description

David Hockney, Number One Chair, from Moving Focus, 1985–86, is one of the most colorful and visually dynamic interior studies from David Hockney’s landmark Moving Focus series, produced during a period of exceptional experimentation in the artist’s career. Centered on a single wicker armchair, the composition transforms an ordinary piece of furniture into a sophisticated investigation of space, movement, perspective, and the experience of looking.

By the early 1980s, Hockney had become increasingly dissatisfied with the fixed viewpoint associated with traditional Renaissance perspective. Influenced by Cubism, his photographic “joiners,” and his continuing study of how the eye moves through an environment, he developed compositions in which several angles and moments of observation could coexist. The Moving Focus series became one of the clearest expressions of these ideas, bringing together portraits, interiors, architecture, and still life through constantly shifting viewpoints.

Rather than presenting the chair from one stable position, Number One Chair places it upon an energetic arrangement of floorboards that appear to turn and change direction across the composition. The brightly colored wicker chair dominates the image, while its extended legs, shifting shadows, and surrounding geometric patterns create a playful sense of instability. Intense passages of yellow, red, blue, green, and purple separate the chair from its surroundings while also drawing it into the fragmented space. The result is unmistakably Hockney: bold, intelligent, playful, and endlessly engaging.

Works from Hockney’s 1980s period are among the most desirable editions of his career because they combine familiar domestic subjects with major conceptual and technical experimentation. Within the Moving Focus series, Number One Chair is particularly recognizable for its concentrated composition, vivid palette, and inventive treatment of an everyday object. With a standard edition of only 60, signed impressions remain limited and have continued to attract strong international collector interest.

Produced in collaboration with the legendary master printers at Tyler Graphics, Number One Chair combines color lithography and etching on luxurious HMP handmade paper. The mixture of techniques gives the composition a rich contrast between delicate linear details, layered texture, and concentrated areas of color. Published by Tyler Graphics Ltd. in 1986 with its blindstamp, the full sheet measures approximately 22¼ by 19 inches. It stands as a refined example of Hockney’s ability to transform an ordinary interior subject through sophisticated printmaking.

Museum Collections:

The significance of Number One Chair is reflected by its inclusion in the permanent collections of several internationally recognized museums, including:

Tate, London

Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

Its presence in these prestigious institutions underscores the importance of both the Moving Focus series and Hockney’s innovative contributions to late twentieth-century interior art and printmaking.

This example, numbered from the limited edition of only 60 and hand signed and dated by David Hockney, represents an outstanding opportunity to acquire one of the artist’s most recognizable and engaging print editions. A limited group of artist’s proofs was also produced outside the standard edition. Combining rarity, historical significance, exceptional craftsmanship, and one of the most inventive periods of Hockney’s career, Number One Chair is an important work for serious collectors of modern and contemporary art.

David Hockney’s Moving Focus series, created between 1984 and 1986, is one of the most ambitious print projects of his career. Moving beyond traditional fixed perspective, Hockney used shifting viewpoints, fragmented forms, expressive drawing, and vivid color to explore how people experience subjects over time. Featuring portraits, interiors, still lifes, chairs, and views of the Hotel Romano Angeles in Mexico, the series was produced with Kenneth Tyler using innovative combinations of lithography, etching, screenprinting, collage, and handmade papers. Together, the works represent a major achievement in modern printmaking and a powerful exploration of movement, perspective, and memory.

The works in David Hockney’s Moving Focus Series (1984–1986) include: Conversation in the Studio, Tyler Dinning Room, Pembroke Studio Interior, Pembroke Studio with Blue Chairs and Lamp, Two Pembroke Studio Chairs, The Perspective Lesson, Amaryllis in Vase, Red Celia, Celia in Green Hat, Hotel Acatlan: First Day, Hotel Acatlan: Second Day, Hotel Acatlan: Two Weeks Later, Views of Hotel Well I, Views of Hotel Well II, Views of Hotel Well III, Walking Past Two Chairs, An Image of Gregory, An Image of Celia, An Image of Celia, State I, An Image of Celia, State II, An Image of Celia Study, Portrait of Mother I, Portrait of Mother II, Portrait of Mother III, An Image of Ken, White Porcelain, A Picture of Two Chairs, Number One Chair.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

David Hockney Number One Chair, from Moving Focus, 1985–86 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonné and related texts. Copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work.

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, catalogue number 287.

  1. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

David Hockney (British, b. 1937)

Number One Chair, from Moving Focus, 1985

Lithograph in colors on TGL handmade paper.
from the edition of 60 in pencil in the lower left.
hand signed by David Hockney (Bradford 1937-) in pencil in the lower right.
 
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