‘Franco-American Mail’ – From ‘The Blue Guitar’ Published By The Petersburg Press – Publisher’s Promotional Card – 1977

Author: Hockney, David
Publisher: The Petersburg Press
Price: £45 including postage in the UK
Publication Date: c.1977
Edition: First edition
Size: 18.4cm x 14.7cm
Condition: Near fine

Condition:

Published by The Petersburg Press, London, UK in c.1977. 1st edition thus. Printed on stiff card with print details verso. Suitable for framing. An unusual production which was possibly produced as a publisher’s promotional item. Size: 18.4cm x 14.7cm. A near fine copy. A very scarce item of David Hockney ephemera.

David Hockney And ‘The Blue Guitar’: A Brief Overview

The Blue Guitar is a major series of etchings by David Hockney, produced between 1976 and 1977 and published as a portfolio accompanied by text. It represents one of Hockney’s most intellectually ambitious print projects, combining poetry, art history, and formal experimentation.

The series is directly inspired by the poem The Man with the Blue Guitar by Wallace Stevens, itself loosely derived from the imagery of Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period and Cubist explorations. Hockney’s work thus forms a layered dialogue across literature and modern art.

Conceptual Framework

Art about art

At its core, The Blue Guitar is concerned with:

• The nature of representation
• The transformation of reality through art
• The relationship between artist, object, and viewer

Stevens’ poem explores how art reshapes the world; Hockney translates this philosophical inquiry into visual form.

Intertextual dialogue

The series operates on three levels:

1. Poetic — responding to Stevens’ text
2. Art historical — engaging with Picasso and Cubism
3. Personal — reflecting Hockney’s own concerns with perception

Rather than illustrating the poem literally, the prints interpret and extend its ideas.

Technique and Printmaking

Etching process

The works are executed primarily as etchings, often combined with aquatint. Hockney uses:

• Fine linear drawing
• Tonal variation through aquatint
• Controlled mark-making

The medium allows both precision and spontaneity, echoing the tension between structure and improvisation found in the subject.

Serial structure

The portfolio consists of a sequence of images, each functioning as:

• An independent composition
• Part of a conceptual progression

The cumulative effect is narrative without conventional storytelling — an unfolding of visual thought.

Visual Language

Cubist influence

Many plates reference Cubist strategies:

• Fragmented objects
• Multiple viewpoints
• Flattened pictorial space

Guitars, figures, and interiors are reconfigured into shifting geometric arrangements.

Line and gesture

Hockney’s line is:

• Economical
• Expressive
• Structurally decisive

He uses line not only to describe form but to suggest movement and transformation.

Recurring motifs

The series includes:

• The guitar as central symbol
• Studio interiors
• Human figures (often stylised or fragmented)
• References to Picasso’s imagery

These motifs are repeatedly altered, reinforcing the theme of reinterpretation.

Themes

Reality and transformation

Echoing Stevens, Hockney explores how:

• Art does not copy reality
• It reorders and reimagines it

The “blue guitar” becomes a metaphor for artistic mediation.

Perception and multiplicity

The rejection of single-point perspective reflects Hockney’s broader interest in:

• Multiple viewpoints
• Temporal experience
• The instability of visual truth

Dialogue with Picasso

Hockney does not imitate Picasso but:

• Engages critically with Cubism
• Revisits its methods in a contemporary context
• Questions its assumptions about space and representation

Relationship to Hockney’s Wider Work

The Blue Guitar sits within a broader phase of experimentation in the 1970s, when Hockney was:

• Expanding his printmaking practice
• Investigating photographic and spatial perception
• Moving beyond the Californian paintings of the 1960s

It anticipates later work, including:

• Photographic “joiners”
• Multi-perspective landscapes

Publication and Format

The series was issued as a portfolio with accompanying text, reinforcing its intellectual ambition. It is not merely a set of prints but a coherent artistic statement, combining visual and literary elements.

For collectors, it is regarded as one of Hockney’s most important graphic works of the period.

Critical Reception

The series has been widely recognised for:

• Its intellectual depth
• Its technical mastery of etching
• Its successful engagement with both poetry and art history

It is often cited as one of the most sophisticated artist–poet dialogues in late twentieth-century printmaking.

Concluding Assessment

The Blue Guitar (1976–77) is a pivotal work in David Hockney’s career, marking a shift toward more conceptual and formally experimental approaches. By engaging with Wallace Stevens and Pablo Picasso, Hockney situates himself within a lineage of modernist inquiry while asserting his own distinct vision.

The series demonstrates that printmaking, often considered secondary to painting, can serve as a primary medium for philosophical and visual exploration, addressing fundamental questions about how art transforms reality.

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