Pembroke Studio with Blue Chairs and Lamp
from Moving Focus

Medium: Lithograph printed in colors on HMP handmade paper
Year: 1984
Sheet: 18 3/4 x 22 inches (47.6 x 55.9 cm)
Edition: 98
Artist’s Proofs: 18 AP
Publisher: Tyler Graphics Ltd., Mount Kisco, New York
Literature: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (263); Tyler (275)

Signed, dated and numbered in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp

Pembroke Studio with Blue Chairs and Lamp features Hockney’s studio, the Pembroke Studio, as a skewed and fractured interior. The scene uses an unnatural, multi-point perspective. The studio’s floor, ceiling, and furnishings appear at odd angles, creating a dramatic, almost “seasick” effect for the viewer. The recognizable everyday objects of the studio, the chairs and the lamp, are seen from multiple angles simultaneously, collapsing their form and structure. The scene is rendered with simple, crayon-like lines in a bold and bright palette.

This print is notable for its exploration of multi-point perspective and its fusion of photography techniques with traditional printmaking. It was created as one of the earliest pieces in the Moving Focus series, which explored new artistic territory in printmaking. The series was produced by Tyler Graphics, Ltd., a renowned publisher of fine art prints. The Moving Focus works represent a crucial phase in Hockney’s career, as he moved from photographic experiments back into painting and printmaking. This particular print was created using 14 aluminum plates and colored lithography. The fragmented look of the floorboards, for example, demonstrates Hockney’s printmaking experimentation.

Pembroke Studio with Blue Chairs and Lamp is a direct extension of Hockney’s experiments with perspective that began with his photographic collages, or “joiners,” in the early 1980s. Challenge to single-point perspective: Hockney challenges the single, fixed viewpoint of traditional art and photography. He argues that the camera’s fixed lens does not accurately represent how the human eye perceives the world. The work synthesizes Hockney’s use of photographic collage with the multiple viewpoints of Cubism. The resulting image captures a scene not from a single moment but from the artist’s eye moving through the space over time.

By depicting an empty studio, Hockney explores the theme of “presence in absence.” The empty chairs and lamp evoke a quiet, lived-in space, suggesting a story of human presence without showing a person.

The work was a landmark achievement in printmaking, pushing the boundaries of what could be accomplished with lithography. The artwork is an important part of Hockney’s lifelong exploration of perspective, which remains a key aspect of his legacy. His ideas have inspired other artists and continue to influence visual storytelling.  Pembroke Studio with Blue Chairs and Lamp and the Moving Focus series solidified Hockney’s reputation as a versatile and innovative artist who could apply his core artistic ideas across many different mediums, from painting to photography and printmaking.

 Auction Results

Phillips London: 21 September 2023
Estimated: GBP 6,000 – 8,000
GBP 20,320 / USD 25,050

DAVID HOCKNEY
Two Pembroke Studio Chairs, from Moving Focus (T.G. 276, M.C.A.T. 264), 1984
Lithograph in colors on HMP handmade paper
Signed, dated and numbered 60/98 in pencil

Heritage Auctions: 26 October 2022
USD 24,375

DAVID HOCKNEY (B. 1937)
Pembroke Studio with Blue Chairs and Lamp, from Moving Focus, 1984
Lithograph in colors on HMP handmade paper
Signed, numbered 59/98, and dated in pencil along lower edge

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2021
Estimated: USD 8,000 – 12,000
USD 22,500

DAVID HOCKNEY (B. 1937)
Pembroke Studio with Blue Chairs and Lamp, from Moving Focus, 1984
Lithograph in colors on HMP handmade paper
Signed and dated ’84’ in pencil, numbered 66/98