Details

Artist: David Hockney (British, b. 1937) (1937 - )
Title: The Perspective Lesson, from Moving Focus, 1984
Series: Moving Focus, 1984
Medium: Lithograph in colors on TGL handmade paper.
Image Size: 30 x 22 in (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
Sheet Size: 30 x 22 in (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
Edition: Numbered from the edition of 50 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-101997

Historical Description

David Hockney, The Perspective Lesson, from Moving Focus, 1984, is one of the most conceptually direct and visually inventive works from David Hockney’s landmark Moving Focus series, created during a period of major experimentation in the artist’s career. Centered on the familiar image of a wicker chair, the lithograph transforms an ordinary interior subject into a playful investigation of perspective, representation, movement, and the way viewers interpret space.

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 viewpoints and moments of observation could coexist within one image. The Moving Focus series became one of the clearest expressions of these ideas, combining Western fixed perspective with more fluid and continuously shifting approaches to space.

In The Perspective Lesson, a wicker chair appears prominently in the foreground, set against an energetic floor filled with broken, directional marks. Behind it, a second image of a chair hangs on the wall but is dramatically crossed out with a bold red X, suggesting Hockney’s rejection of conventional single point perspective. The contrast between the two chairs, one presented as a traditional image and the other reconstructed through shifting lines and proportions, gives the composition both humor and intellectual depth. The result is unmistakably Hockney: playful, thoughtful, experimental, and visually engaging.

Works from Hockney’s 1980s period are highly valued for combining familiar domestic subjects with major conceptual and technical experimentation. Within the Moving Focus series, The Perspective Lesson is especially significant because it addresses the central ideas of the series more directly than almost any other composition. With a standard edition of only 50, signed impressions remain limited and increasingly desirable.

Produced in collaboration with the legendary master printers at Tyler Graphics, The Perspective Lesson is a color lithograph printed on gray HMP handmade paper. Published by Tyler Graphics Ltd. in Bedford, New York, the work bears the publisher’s blindstamp and was issued in an edition of 50, accompanied by 18 artist’s proofs. The full sheet measures approximately 29⅞ by 22 inches. Each standard edition impression was signed, dated, and individually numbered in pencil by David Hockney.

Museum Collections:

The significance of The Perspective Lesson is reflected by its inclusion in the permanent collections of internationally recognized museums, including:

Tate, London

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

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

This example, numbered from the exceptionally limited edition of only 50 and hand signed and dated by David Hockney, represents an outstanding opportunity to acquire one of the artist’s most recognizable and intellectually important print editions. An additional 18 artist’s proofs were produced outside the standard edition. Combining rarity, historical significance, exceptional craftsmanship, and one of Hockney’s most direct examinations of perspective, The Perspective Lesson 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 The Perspective Lesson, from Moving Focus, 1984 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés 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 265.
Tyler Graphics, catalogue number 284.

  1. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

David Hockney (British, b. 1937)

The Perspective Lesson, from Moving Focus, 1984

Lithograph in colors on TGL handmade paper.
from the edition of 50 in pencil in the lower left.
hand signed by David Hockney (Bradford 1937-) in pencil in the lower right.
 
Loading Affinity Artworks…
Your Shopping Cart
...