In the Studio, December 2017
Medium: Photographic drawing in colors printed on 7 sheets of paper mounted to Dibond
Year: 2017
Sheet: 23 3/4 x 65 3/4 inches (60.3 x 165.1 cm)
Edition: 25
Signed, dated and numbered in black ink
In the Studio, December 2017 is a large-scale “photographic drawing” in which David Hockney depicts his workspace using a digital collage technique, comprising thousands of individual photographs to challenge traditional single-point perspective.
This work is a self-portrait of the artist surrounded by various old and new paintings in his studio, which is located in the Hollywood Hills. It is a complex, large composition that at first glance might resemble a conventional panorama, but closer inspection reveals distortions. The edges of objects can appear frayed or pixelated, and elements like an armchair’s contours are highlighted with orange lines, making the digital construction apparent. The overall effect is a dense, detailed interior scene that references historical studio paintings by masters like Matisse and Courbet.
In the Studio, December 2017 is an exploration of human perception and the representation of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. Hockney challenges the limitations of conventional photography, which he views as a one-dimensional medium that captures only a “fraction of a second” from a single, fixed viewpoint. By using a “moving focus,” the work asserts Hockney’s belief that a mobile viewer experiences a scene with multiple perspectives, reflecting how the eye is always moving.
This work is a statement about his consistent questioning and observation of the world, presenting the studio not just as a physical location but as a place for intellectual and artistic inquiry. The manipulation of temporal and physical perspective creates a sense of depth and movement that a single photograph cannot achieve, a quality Hockney refers to as “3D without the glasses”.
The work, which Hockney calls a “photographic drawing,” is a sophisticated digital collage. Hockney created the composition by taking approximately 3,000 individual digital photographs of different parts of the studio, including himself, the furniture, and the surrounding artworks, all from slightly different angles. These numerous individual views were then digitally stitched or sutured together to form a single, expansive composition. The digital montage is deliberately imperfect, utilizing the idea of reverse perspective (where the vanishing point is not fixed) to create a disorienting yet more natural sense of space than traditional linear perspective allows.
Auction Results
Artnet Auctions: 19 November 2025
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 68,750
DAVID HOCKNEY (British, b. 1937)
In the Studio, December 2017, 2017
Photographic drawing in colors on seven sheets of paper mounted to seven aluminum panels
Signed and numbered in black ink
Edition 16/25
Christie’s New-York: 25 October 2024
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 119,700
DAVID HOCKNEY (B. 1937)
In the Studio, December 2017, 2017
Photographic drawing printed on 7 sheets of paper mounted to Dibond (as issued)
Numbered 24⁄25
In the original artist’s frame