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David Hockney|Painted Environment

Each of David Hockney's three 'Painted Environment' prints, dated either 1993 or 1994, are pieced together from 16 colour laser-printed photographs. The photographs record the painted rooms he made in 1993, where a canvas on an easel stood among more painted images and laser prints. Every print is mounted on a single board and was issued in an edition of 25.

All Painted Environment Works By David Hockney (3)

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Painted Environment II

David Hockney

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Painted Environment III

David Hockney

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Painted Environment I

David Hockney

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Significance & Analysis

'Painted Environment' carries into print an idea Hockney pursued in 1993: painting that surrounds the picture on the easel, so that wall, floor and canvas run together and the edges between them are hard to make out.

Photographs pieced together

Hockney photographed his paintings and easels, printed the photographs on a colour laser printer and mounted the sheets edge to edge. He used laser prints both as sketches in his painting process and as finished works, and these three belong to the second group.

Before and after

The method recalls Hockney's 'Photographic Collages (Joiners)' of 1982 to 1984, which also build one picture out of many separate prints. Two years after the Painted Environments, in 1995, he took the idea of a painting that spreads into its surroundings into performance. In 'Snails Space' he extended two canvases, together about 213 x 610 cm, onto the floor with real cubes, cones and cylinders, and lit the whole with computer-controlled stage lighting that changed its colours over about eight minutes. He said of it: "from when it begins to when it stops, it is theater and painting combined."

Who Published the Painted Environment Prints?

Hockney published 'Painted Environment II' and 'Painted Environment III' himself, rather than through a print workshop or gallery. The two are numbers 352 and 353 in the Tokyo catalogue of his prints (M.C.A.T., 1996). Their laser-printed sheets are full sheets, mounted on archival board as issued, so the board is part of the work rather than a later backing. Auction catalogues give the paper of 'Painted Environment II' as Parsons linen.

Which Year Does Each Painted Environment Print Date From?

'Painted Environment I' is dated 1993 throughout its records. 'Painted Environment II' was made in 1993 and published in 1994, so catalogues list it under either year. 'Painted Environment III' is dated 1993 by most catalogues and 1994 by some.

Why Do Painted Environment Prints Appear in Different Sizes?

Because the boards can be trimmed, and a framed work may be measured by sight. As issued, the board measures about 92 x 112 cm. An impression of 'Painted Environment II' sold at Phillips London in 2024 had its mount trimmed to 82.5 x 102.7 cm, and a framed 'Painted Environment III' sold in 2023 was measured at 76.8 x 97.3 cm inside the frame. The joined image of these two titles is about 79 x 99 cm, which is the more reliable figure to compare.

Were the Painted Environment Prints Hockney's Only Laser Prints?

No. Around 1990 in Los Angeles he made '40 pix of my house with a video (still) camera', a group of small laser prints on sheets of about 21.5 x 28 cm. In 1993, alongside the Painted Environments, he laser-printed Yorkshire landscapes, and in 1994 he made laser-printer images of portrait drawings recorded in close-up sessions on a video camera. Where '40 pix of my house' is a group of separate small sheets, each Painted Environment print joins its sheets into one image.