Gretchen and the Snurl

Details

David Hockney (b. 1937)
Gretchen and the Snurl
five etchings with aquatint printed in a row on one sheet, 1961, on wove paper, signed, dated and titled in pencil, numbered 19/50 (there were also 16 artist's proofs), published by Editions Alecto, London, 1963, with their blindstamp, the full sheet, with pale mount staining, areas of skinning on the reverse, otherwise in good condition

Image 119 x 530 mm. (overall), Sheet 283 x 790 mm.

Literature

Scottish Arts Council 9; Tokyo 9

Special Notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

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Lot Essay

'Gretchen and the Snurl[...] illustrates a story written by a fellow student, Mark Berger, concerning a boy named Gretchen who ventures into the 'big wide world' and is befriended by Boorp the Snurl, an amorphous creature. Despite warnings to avoid nasty Snatch (a colloquialism for vagina), Gretchen is almost devoured by the giant-toothed vagina on his arrival in the city. Saved by Snurl, the couple return to the countryside where they 'live happily ever after'. (Paul Melia, 'David Hockney, We Two Boys Together Clinging', in: Spotlight, Arts Council Collection, 1991)
The S.A.C. and Tokyo catalogues erroneously record an edition of 75.

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