David Hockney Moving Focus For Sale

Moving Focus Series

David Hockney's Moving Focus series represents a pivotal moment in the artist's career, marking his radical departure from traditional single-point perspective and establishing him as one of contemporary art's most innovative visual theorists. Developed primarily during the 1980s and early 1990s, this body of work demonstrates Hockney's revolutionary approach to photographic collage and multi-perspective composition, challenging centuries of Western pictorial convention. Works such as Hotel Acatlán: First Day (1985) and Views of Hotel Well I (1984-85) exemplify his technique of assembling dozens—sometimes hundreds—of individual photographs into unified compositions that capture the experience of looking over time rather than in a single frozen moment.

The series draws profound inspiration from Cubist principles and Chinese scroll paintings, yet remains distinctly Hockney in its vibrant color palette and intimate subject matter. Recurring motifs include beloved subjects like Celia Birtwell, depicted in works such as Red Celia (1984) and the earlier Celia In A Wicker Chair (1974), which provides crucial context for understanding the series' evolution. Through pieces like Slow Rise (1993), Rampant (1991), and Eine (1991), Hockney explores how fragmented images can create a more truthful representation of visual experience than conventional photography, effectively arguing that moving focus more accurately reflects human perception than the camera's fixed lens.

From a market perspective, the Moving Focus works occupy a significant position within Hockney's extensive oeuvre, representing a crucial bridge between his iconic naturalistic paintings and his later explorations in digital media. These pieces appeal to sophisticated collectors who recognize Hockney's theoretical contributions to contemporary art practice, not merely his aesthetic achievements. The series' institutional validation—with major examples held in prominent museum collections worldwide—combined with Hockney's sustained auction performance, positions these works as sound acquisitions for serious collectors. As Hockney continues to achieve record-breaking prices and retrospectives at the world's leading museums, early examples from the Moving Focus series represent historically important works from a definitive period of artistic experimentation.

For acquisition inquiries regarding available works from David Hockney's Moving Focus series, contact Guy Hepner.