Etching from the 1966 portfolio Illustrations for Fourteen Poems from C.P. Cavafy, published by Editions Alecto, London.
This impression is from Edition A, part of the edition of 500 copies that were originally issued as bound volumes. The individual prints in this edition were not numbered, and the edition number appeared only on the colophon page.
This particular impression is exceptionally hand-signed by David Hockney, which is highly uncommon for prints from the bound edition.
Printed on Crisbrook handmade paper, as issued, with the publisher’s stamp on the verso.
A poignant and restrained composition, In Despair exemplifies the emotional subtlety of Hockney’s Cavafy series — portraying solitude and reflection with quiet intensity.
