Cleanliness is Next to Godliness
from The Institute of Contemporary Arts Portfolio 1964

Medium: Screenprint in colors from photographic and hand-cut stencils on thin wove paper
Year: 1964
Sheet: 34 1/8 x 23 inches (86.7 x 58.5 cm)
Edition: 40
Artist’s Proofs: 15 AP
Publisher: Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
Printer: Christoper Prater at Kelpra Studios, London
Literature: Scottish Arts Council (39); Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (39)

Signed, dated, titled and numbered in pencil
With the printer’s lilac ink stamp recto

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness depicts a naked young man in a shower, seen through a patterned curtain, using bright colors influenced by David Hockney’s move to California. The work ironically uses the proverb to explore themes of sexuality, physical purity, and the candid beauty of the male form, sourcing the image from Physique Pictorial magazine, contrasting its idealized “beefcake” source with real, vulnerable intimacy, and marking a bold step in openly depicting gay life.

This work is a screenprint using photographic stencils and hand-cut stencils, featuring bright, bold colors. The shift from muted tones to vivid hues reflects the impact of Californian sunshine and consumer culture on David Hockney’s art and personal life. The title, a common saying about hygiene and morality, becomes ironic when applied to this intimate, homoerotic image. It highlights the “purity” of the body and the open embrace of desire in a new, liberated environment.

According to the Tate, London, which has an impression of this screenprint in its collection

“This print of a naked youth behind a translucent shower curtain is based upon the photograph of a sixteen year old boy published in the American magazine, Physique Pictorial. As Hockney [born 1937] discovered, when he visited Los Angeles, the models used by the magazine were local boys, some of them just released from prison, who were persuaded to pose nude in pools and showers for a few dollars. The disparity between the classical ideal presented in the magazine and the real life circumstances of the models perhaps accounts for the ironic title of Hockney’s print.”

Auction Results

DAVID HOCKNEY (British, born 1937)
Cleanliness is Next to Godliness (Scottish Arts Council 39; M.C.A. Tokyo 39), 1964
from The Institute of Contemporary Arts Portfolio 1964
Screenprint in colors from photographic and hand-cut stencils on thin wove paper
Signed, dated and numbered 13/40 in pencil

Swann Auction Galleries: 6 June 2024
Estimated: USD 10,000 – 15,000
USD 17,500

DAVID HOCKNEY
Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness, 1964-65
Color screenprint on Cartridge paper
Signed, dated and inscribed “Artist’s proof” in pencil, lower margin
An artist’s proof, aside from the edition of 40

Forum Auctions: 21 July 2021
Estimated: GBP 5,000 – 7,000
GBP 12,000 (Hammer)
GBP 15,744 / USD 21,555

DAVID HOCKNEY (b.1937)
Cleanliness is Next to Godliness (MCA Tokyo 39), 1964
Screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and inscribed for Chris and dated in pencil
An artist’s proof aside from the edition of 40

DAVID HOCKNEY (b.1937)
CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS (S. A. C., MCA TOKYO 39), 1965
Screenprint in colors on Cartridge paper
Signed in pencil, dated ‘64′, inscribed ‘Artists proof’
One of 15 Artist’s proofs aside from the edition of 40

Christie’s London: 29 March 2017
Estimated: GBP 4,000 – 6,000
GBP 6,875 / USD 8,530

DAVID HOCKNEY (B. 1937)
Cleanliness is next to Godliness, 1964
Screenprint in colors from photographic and hand-cut stencils on thin wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil, numbered 13/40