Red Square and the Forbidden City
from China Diary
Medium: Lithograph in colors on Somerset paper, the full sheet folded three times to form four panels
Year: 1982
Open Sheet: 19 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches (49.5 x 54.5 cm)
Edition: 1,000
Artist’s Proofs: 100 AP
Printer: Petersburg Studios, New York
Publisher: Thames and Hudson, New York
Literature: MCAT (254)
Signed, dated and numbered in pencil
With accompanying book and text by Stephen Spender in original red paper boards with gilt design on cover
Book: 10 x 7 5/8 x 1 1/8 inches (25.5 x 19.5 x 2.7 cm)
Signed by the artist in black ink and the author in blue ink on an inside page
Numbered in black ink on the justification
In May 1981, David Hockney visited China at the prompting of the editor Nikos Stangos at Thames & Hudson, Hockney takes photographs and makes watercolors, two mediums that accommodate a swift pace of travel.
“There was hardly a time when you had half an hour to sit around; so I realized I had to devise a method of drawing quickly or from memory. I started drawing from memory more and more.”
Alongside descriptions by the English writer and poet Stephen Spender, his travel companion along with Gregory Evans, Hockney’s images are published in the book China Diary (1982). From observing Chinese artists at work, his appreciation for loose, fast brushwork grows, as does his openness to relying on memory to represent an experience.
Red Square and the Forbidden City, a stylized aerial view of Tiananmen Square, reflects Hockney’s engagement with Chinese culture and landscape during this period. The vastness of the plaza is indicated by the expanse of white paper, dotted with tiny bicycles, that creates a sense of scale and space. Above, the Forbidden City is rendered in bold colours from an overhead view, akin to a blueprint or architectural plan. In contrast to these aerial perspectives, the Tiananmen Gate and the line of trees behind it are presented as though viewed from straight ahead, offering a more traditional frontal perspective.
This approach of combining multiple perspectives and viewpoints underscores Hockney’s interest in the formal qualities of Chinese art and its emphasis on balance, narrative, and spatial relationships over one-point linear perspective. Red Square and the Forbidden City is a fascinating synthesis of traditional Eastern artistic elements with Hockney’s contemporary perspective and distinctive draughtsmanship, offering a unique interpretation of one of China’s most politically and historically charged sites.
Auction Results
Rago: 12 February 2025
Estimated: USD 1,500 – 2,500
USD 4,826
DAVID HOCKNEY (b.1937)
Red Square and the Forbidden City (from the China Diary) (MCAT 254), 1982
Lithograph in colors on Somerset
Signed, dated and numbered to lower right ‘755/1000 David Hockney 82’
Phillips London: 19 September 2024
Estimated: GBP 1,500 – 2,000
GBP 1,270 / USD 1,675
Red Square and the Forbidden City, from China Diary (M.C.A.T. 254), 1982
Lithograph in colors on Somerset paper, the full sheet folded three times to form four panels
Signed, dated and numbered 843/1000 in pencil (there were also 104 artist’s proofs)
Estimated: GBP 2,000 – 3,000
GBP 2,160 / USD 2,760
DAVID HOCKNEY (b. 1937)
Red Square and the Forbidden City, from China Diary, 1982
Lithograph printed in colours on Somerset satin-finish rag paper folded in thirds as issued
With the accompanying book ‘China Diary,’
Also signed by the artist in black ink and in blue ink by the author, Stephen Spender, on the justification page
Together with the original slipcase
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 317/1000
Rago: 4 June 2024
Estimated: USD 2,500 – 3,500
USD 2,772
DAVID HOCKNEY (b.1937)
Red Square and the Forbidden City (from the China Diary), 1982
Folded lithograph in colors on Somerset satin-finish mould-made rag, bound artist’s book
Signed, dated and numbered to lower right of lithograph ‘127/1000 David Hockney 82’
Signed to inside page of book ‘David Hockney Stephen Spender’
LA Modern: 15 May 2024
Estimated: USD 2,000 – 3,000
USD 4,032
DAVID HOCKNEY (b.1937)
Red Square and the Forbidden City; China Diary (two works), 1982
Lithograph in colors on Somerset wove paper, bound book
Signed, titled and numbered to lower right ‘386/1000 David Hockney 82’
Signed to title page ‘David Hockney Stephen Spender’
Bonhams London: 20 September 2023
Estimated: GBP 2,000 – 3,000
GBP 2,432 / USD 3,013
Lithograph in colors on mould-made Somerset Satin paper
Signed, dated and numbered 266/1000 in pencil
The full sheet folded three times to form four panels (as issued)
With the accompanying book ‘China Diary’
Text and justification signed by the artist and author, Stephen Spender
This copy numbered 266 in black ink (there were also 100 artist’s proofs)
Estimated: USD 2,500 – 3,500
USD 7,650
Lithograph in colors on Somerset paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 319/1000
Together with the book ‘China Diary’
A limited edition artist book with text by Stephen Spender
Signed in ink by Hockney and Spender, contained in original cardboard slipcase
Phillips London: 18 January 2023
Estimated: GBP 2,000 – 3,000
GBP 2,520 / USD 3,095
DAVID HOCKNEY
Red Square and the Forbidden City, from China Diary (M.C.A.T. 254), 1982
Lithograph in colors, on Somerset paper, the full sheet folded three times to form four panels (as issued)
With accompanying book and text by Stephen Spender in original red paper boards with gilt design on cover
All contained in the original heavy card slipcase
The print signed, dated and numbered 289/1000 in pencil
The book signed by the artist in black ink and the author in blue ink on an inside page
Further numbered ‘289’ in black ink on the justification
