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'The shop window of a tobacco store'

Print
1966 (printed), 1967 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Although commonly grouped with the Pop artists who emerged in Britain in the 1960s, David Hockney was less influenced in his image making by mass media, advertising and the consumer society than by his private life (his imagery often focuses on friends and familiar places), traditional literature and gay culture. The Alexandria-born Greek Cavafy, whom he discovered in 1960, was one of his favourite poets. In 1966 Hockney travelled to Beirut in search of the kind of atmosphere he imagined Alexandria would have had at the time when Cavafy was writing there. The images which he ultimately made to illustrate a selection of Cavafy's poems are mostly of young male couples which could have been made in many places apart from Egypt in the early 20th century. It is their simplicity and frankness which reflect the quality of Cavafy's writing which appealed to Hockney. Here, however, he sets a more specific scene, with the tobacco shop acting as the site for sexual or erotic encounter.


Although commonly grouped with the Pop artists who emerged in Britain in the 1960s, David Hockney was less influenced in his image making by mass media, advertising and the consumer society than by his private life (his imagery often focuses on friends and familiar places), traditional literature and gay culture. The Alexandria-born Greek Cavafy, whom he discovered in 1960, was one of his favourite poets. In 1966 Hockney travelled to Beirut in search of the kind of atmosphere he imagined Alexandria would have had at the time when Cavafy was writing there. However the illustrations which he ultimately made are almost (but not quite) all of young male couples which might have been made in many places apart from Egypt in the early 20th century. Although there has been a tradition of homo-erotic art, it has often been closeted. Hockney’s frank yet sensitive depictions of homosexual themes seem to have a wider public appeal.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Title'The shop window of a tobacco store'
Materials and techniques
etching and aquatint on paper
Brief description
David Hockney: 'The shop window of a tobacco store'. Etching and aquatint. 1966
Physical description
A street with shop fronts. In the centre, the shop is lettered on its board 'HIS MASTER'S VOICE and above in Arabic, and below: 'S.AUDI & FRERES' A couple of men talking outside it and a man in a fez walking past them. Above the shop front a row of windows.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 57cm
  • Sheet width: 39.2cm
  • Plate height: 34.8cm
  • Plate width: 22.5cm
Production typeLimited edition
Copy number
37/75
Marks and inscriptions
David Hockney '66 37/75 ea 368 (signed, dated and numbered in pencil. Stamped on the back with the publisher's mark and number.)
Production
One of a suite of 12 plates to: Fourteen Poems by C.P. Cavafy. Chosen and Illustrated with twelve etchings by David Hockney. Translated by Nikos Stangos and Stephen Spender. Published by Editions Alecto Limited, London 1967. This illustration accompanies the poem of the same title.
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Literary referenceFourteen Poems by C.P.Cavafy. Chosen and illustrated with 12 etchings by David Hockney. Translated by Stephen Spender and Nikos Stangos.Published by Editions Alecto Ltd., 1967
Summary
Although commonly grouped with the Pop artists who emerged in Britain in the 1960s, David Hockney was less influenced in his image making by mass media, advertising and the consumer society than by his private life (his imagery often focuses on friends and familiar places), traditional literature and gay culture. The Alexandria-born Greek Cavafy, whom he discovered in 1960, was one of his favourite poets. In 1966 Hockney travelled to Beirut in search of the kind of atmosphere he imagined Alexandria would have had at the time when Cavafy was writing there. The images which he ultimately made to illustrate a selection of Cavafy's poems are mostly of young male couples which could have been made in many places apart from Egypt in the early 20th century. It is their simplicity and frankness which reflect the quality of Cavafy's writing which appealed to Hockney. Here, however, he sets a more specific scene, with the tobacco shop acting as the site for sexual or erotic encounter.


Although commonly grouped with the Pop artists who emerged in Britain in the 1960s, David Hockney was less influenced in his image making by mass media, advertising and the consumer society than by his private life (his imagery often focuses on friends and familiar places), traditional literature and gay culture. The Alexandria-born Greek Cavafy, whom he discovered in 1960, was one of his favourite poets. In 1966 Hockney travelled to Beirut in search of the kind of atmosphere he imagined Alexandria would have had at the time when Cavafy was writing there. However the illustrations which he ultimately made are almost (but not quite) all of young male couples which might have been made in many places apart from Egypt in the early 20th century. Although there has been a tradition of homo-erotic art, it has often been closeted. Hockney’s frank yet sensitive depictions of homosexual themes seem to have a wider public appeal.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Andrew Brighton: David Hockney Prints 1954-1977[Catalogue Raisonne]. Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham/ Scottish Arts Council. 1979. no.53
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.520-1968

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Record createdJuly 25, 2008
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