A Passion for Paper: 7 Howard Hodgkin Highlights

Howard Hodgkin, Put Out More Flags, 1992.
Estimate £2,500–3,500

With a deep understanding of the sophisticated techniques required to bring out the desired colours and textures, Hodgkin’s printmaking methods were incredibly ambitious, spontaneous and experimental, employing an enormous variety of techniques, from lithography, to screen-printing, to intaglio works with additional carborundum and hand-colouring.

Howard Hodgkin: Working on Paper
12 June 2018 | London

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Howard Hodgkin, Indian Tree, 1991.
Estimate £6,000–8,000

Hodgkin’s prints range in size from just over 10cm tall and 15cm wide, to works as large as 2.5 metres tall by 6 metres wide, his method of layering three of even four different printmaking techniques gave new potential to the medium.

Howard Hodgkin: Working on Paper
Howard Hodgkin: Working on Paper
12 June 2018 | London

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Howard Hodgkin, Swimming, 2011.
Estimate £25,000–35,000

Twelve leading British artists were invited to design the official London 2012 Olympic posters, including Bridget Riley, Tracey Emin, Gary Hume, and Michael Craig-Martin. Swimming was widely regarded as the most successful poster, with Jonathan Jones of The Guardian commenting ‘But to see Howard Hodgkin, grand old man of sensuous painters, reach into the deep blue to create a dreamlike metamorphosis of athlete and water, the diver and the pool, is beautiful.’

Howard Hodgkin: Working on Paper
12 June 2018 | London

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Howard Hodgkin, Indian Waves No.32, 1990-91.
Estimate £40,000–60,000

The Indian Waves series, executed between 1990-91, continued Hodgkin’s love affair with India. Bringing handmade paper home from India, made from recycled cotton clothing and plant fibres, its variable raw material and production methods brought random and unique qualities which Hodgkin believed would add to the expressive potential of the work.

Howard Hodgkin: Working on Paper
12 June 2018 | London

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Howard Hodgkin, Multiplication, 2013.
Estimate £800–1,200

Many of the works within the sale are sold to benefit charities that Hodgkin supported throughout his life, including The Tate Foundation for Acquisitions , The Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation , The National Portrait Gallery and The Mark Morris Dance Group . Multiplication was a commission from 2012 that raised funds for The Terrence Higgins Trust , one of the UK’s leading HIV and AIDS charities, and is sold to benefit the charity.

Howard Hodgkin: Working on Paper
12 June 2018 | London

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Howard Hodgkin, Design for Limited Edition Rug, 2016-17, commissioned by the Hepworth Wakefield, 2016.
Estimate £20,000–30,000

This work was painted in 2016 for a limited edition rug, which was released to coincide with the Howard Hodgkin: Painting India exhibition at the Hepworth Wakefield in 2017. The rug was created in partnership with Christopher Farr , a London-based company that have been at the forefront of contemporary rug design since 1990.

Howard Hodgkin: Working on Paper
12 June 2018 | London

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Howard Hodgkin, Back cloth design for ‘Rhymes with Silver’, 1997. Estimate £15,000–25,000

Hodgkin had been interested in designing for the theatre ever since he was a child, and the sale features designs for productions including Pulcinella at the Ballet Rambert in 1987, Piano, first performed by the Royal Ballet in 1989, and Rhymes with Silver , first performed by the Mark Morris Dance Group at Zellerbach Hall, University of California, Berkeley in 1997.

Howard Hodgkin: Working on Paper
12 June 2018 | London

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Photograph courtesy The Howard Hodgkin Archive.

Howard Hodgkin working on A Furnished Room, 1977.

On Sunday 10 June at 3pm Hodgkin’s printmaker Andrew Smith will be giving at free talk at Sotheby’s – The Journey of Making: Howard Hodgkin Working on Paper. Contact us now to reserve your free space on modbrit@sothebys.com or 0207 394 6424.

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