Robert Hodgins Archive
Robert Hodgins' self-proclaimed modus operandi was as a "optimistic old sod", Hodgins (1921-2010) once described painting to be "a bit like surfing" in that a good deal of time is spent bobbing about, waiting for the right wave to come along. Having said this, it's not about instant gratification. Where Robert Hodgins was concerned, paintings may only come into their own months or even years after their genesis. But beyond it all, he described being a painter as a "very nice way to live." Not restricted by the need for technical support, for him it was about accepting the responsibility of the mark of one's hand that is negotiated by no one other than oneself, quoting Francis Bacon's words of "courting accidents", but then choosing the ones that work. Another Hodgins maxim is that "subject matter is not content." For Hodgins art was an "auto-intoxication that allows one to live through marriages, divorces, deaths and unhappy love affairs, and come up smiling all the time."
"There are paintings that stem from memory and from a sombre look at the human condition. Paintings about the construction and confusion of contemporary urban life, but also paintings about the pleasures of being alive, pleasures that crowd in upon the pessimism everywhere - that crowd in and refuse to be ignored." Robert Hodgins, 2000
"Being an artist is about putting something into your subject matter that isn't inherently there. You are not at the mercy of your subject matter, it's the content, and what you put into it, what you do with it, what extract from it, and what you put it with, that is so exciting. If you are aware of this, then you begin to build on the content of your whole life. Before you know where you are, you're already thinking about the next work, and you could live to be 300. Paintings can be one-night stands or lifetime love-affairs - you never know until you get cracking." Robert Hodgins
As a young child in London, Hodgins used to hide out in the Tate Gallery, where it was "warm and open." Despite having exhibited since the early 1950s, it was 1981 before he was taken really seriously. A major retrospective was hosted by the Standard Bank National Arts Festival in 1986. An early career highlight was a two-man show with Jan Neethling titled Pretty Boy Floyd, producing some sixty experimental silkscreens of the gangster and hanging them on washing lines in the gallery. Hodgins cited this as a true "corroboration" of minds.
Hodgins worked at The Artists' Press for many years and it was always a pleasure to have Rob's energy, sticky tea buns and humour in the studio. Mark Attwood has a special place at his press for Hodgins as he felt that the "old man" pushed him harder and challenged him more than most other artists. When the printer and artist collaborated the energy in the printshop was tangible. Hodgins used monoprints as his starting point and then developed ones that he liked most into lithographs. He also experimented with hand coloured gravure prints.
With thanks to Kathryn Smith and Artthrob magazine on whose writing this page is based.
Robert Hodgins passed away on the 15th of March 2010 at the age of 89, from lung cancer. His passing has left a huge gap in the studio, his energy, humour and insight is missed by us all.
In this archive, you will find lithographs that Hodgins made in collaboration with The Artists' Press. These are prints that were published by The Artists' Press and which have sold out and so are no longer available from us. Hodgins worked on many monoprints with us but we did not publish these. Unfortunately, we do not have a full photographic record of these prints and some of the ones on this page were badly photographed, we apologise for the poor image quality.
New Editions from The Artists' Press
Title: Full Camouflage
Medium: Five colour lithograph
Edition size: 30
Paper size: 76 x 57 cm
Date: 2009
SOLD OUT
Title: Rome
Medium: Five colour lithograph
Edition size: 35
Paper size: 57 x 76 cm
Date: 2009
SOLD OUT
Title: Girl
Medium: Three colour lithograph
Edition size: 30
Paper size: 76 x 57 cm
Date: 2009
SOLD OUT
Title: Chairs
Medium: Four colour lithograph
Edition size: 40
Paper size: 57 x 76 cm
Date: 2009
SOLD OUT
Title: Chairmen
Medium: Three colour lithograph
Edition size: 30
Paper size: 40 x 52 cm
Date: 2009
SOLD OUT
Title: Miss Priss
Medium: Five colour lithograph
Edition size: 60
Paper size: 57.5 x 76.5 cm
Date: 2009
SOLD OUT
Title: Actor
Medium: Five colour lithograph
Edition size: 20
Paper size: 76 x 57 cm
Date: 2009
SOLD OUT
Title: QED? Right?
Medium: three colour lithograph
Edition size: 20
Paper size: 76 x 57 cm
Date: 2008
SOLD OUT
Title: Smug on his bum
Medium: Monotype
Paper size: 56 x 76 cm
Date: 2008
SOLD
Title: Don't know what I want, just know I'm going to get it
Medium: Monotype
Paper size: 56 x 76 cm
Date: 2007/8
SOLD
Title:
Wrong side-a the tracks
Medium: Four colour lithograph
Size: 76.5 x 57 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 2007
SOLD OUT
Title:
Of Thee I Sing.
Medium: Five colour lithograph
Paper size: 76.5 x 57 cm
Image size: 70 x 50.5 cm
Edition size: 40
Date: 2007
SOLD OUT
Title:
Sergeant Major
Medium: Seven colour lithograph
Paper size: 66 x 50 cm
Image size: 44 x 40 cm
Edition size: 30
Date: 2007
SOLD OUT
Title: Sarge
Medium: Seven colour lithograph
Edition size: 25
Paper size: 66 x 50 cm
Date: 2007
SOLD OUT
Title: CEO
Medium: Six colour lithograph
Edition size: 40
Paper size: 76 x 57 cm
Date: 2007
SOLD OUT
Title: New York! New York!!!
Medium: Four colour lithograph
Edition size: 40
Paper size: 53 x 65 cm
Date: 2006 (signed 2007)
SOLD OUT
Title: YES, YES Sarn Major SIR!
Medium: Four colour lithograph
Edition size: 25
Paper size: 50 x 38 cm
Date: 2007
SOLD OUT
Title: An Uber Something from Upper Somewhere
Medium: Four colour lithograph
Edition size: 25
Paper size: 50 x 38 cm
Date: 2007
SOLD OUT
Title: The Colonel Drunk
Medium: Three colour lithograph
Edition size: 25
Paper size: 50 x 38 cm
Date: 2007
SOLD OUT
Title: Cow Country Cadet
Medium: Four colour lithograph
Edition size: 25
Paper size: 50 x 38 cm
Date: 2007
SOLD OUT
Title: American Beauty
Medium: Five colour lithograph
Edition size: 40
Paper size: 76 x 57 cm
Date: 2007
SOLD OUT
Title: A Night Watch
Medium: Monotype
Paper size: 57 x 76.8 cm
Date: 2007
SOLD
Title: "Too
Amusing"
Medium: Hand-coloured photo gravure print
Paper size: 38 x 28 cm
Image size: 25 x 18 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 2006
SOLD OUT
Title: "Too many bloody elephants anyway"
Medium: Single colour lithograph with hand colouring
Edition size: 20
Paper size: 38 x 28 cm
Date: 2006
SOLD OUT
Title: Servants...Nowadays... Too Much...
Medium: Single colour lithograph with hand colouring
Edition size: 20
Paper size: 38 x 28 cm
Date: 2006
SOLD OUT
Title: Golden Girl
Medium: Four colour lithograph
Edition size: 40
Paper size:76 x 57 cm
Date: 2006
SOLD OUT
Title: Mitzi
Medium: Three colour lithograph
Edition size: 8
Paper size: 66 x 50 cm
Date: 2006
SOLD OUT
(updated digital image not available)
Title: I'm protecting your investment.
Medium: Monotype
Date: 2006
SOLD
Title: Untitled
Medium: Monotype
Paper size: 76 x 56 cm
Date: 2006
SOLD
Title: Sunday Best
Medium: Monotype
Paper size: 57 x 76 cm
Date: 2004
SOLD
Title: TEC
Medium: Hand coloured photo gravure print
Paper size: 48 x 38 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 2004
SOLD OUT
Title: Moll
Medium: Hand coloured photo gravure print
Paper size: 48 x 38 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 2004
SOLD OUT
Title: Crook
Medium: Hand coloured photo gravure print
Paper size: 48 x 38 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 2004
SOLD OUT
Title: Gun Slinger
Medium: Hand coloured photo gravure print
Paper size: 48 x 38 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 2004
SOLD OUT
Title: Vive le France
Medium: Hand coloured photo gravure print
Paper size: 48 x 38 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 2004
SOLD OUT
Title: Champ
Medium: Hand coloured photo gravure print
Paper size: 48 x 38 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 2004
SOLD OUT
Title: War Boss
Medium: Hand coloured photo gravure print
Paper size: 48 x 38 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 2004
SOLD OUT
Title: Coach
Medium: Hand coloured photo gravure print
Paper size: 48 x 38 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 2004
SOLD OUT
Title: "So?"
Medium: Six colour lithograph
Edition size: 40
Paper size: 75 x 107 cm
Date: 2004
SOLD OUT
Title: Two from Appalachia
Medium: Monotype
Paper size: 57 x 76 cm
Date: 2004
SOLD
Title: Night Patrol, New York
Medium: Two colour lithograph
Edition size: 30
Paper size: 56 x 76 cm
Date: 2004
SOLD OUT
Title: Montmatre Suite V
Medium: Monoprint
Paper size: 57 x 76 cm
Date: 2003
SOLD
Title: La Contessa Venamosa
Medium: Three colour lithograph
Edition size: 60
Paper size: 56 x 76 cm
Date: 2003
SOLD OUT
Title: Encounters in a Space
Medium: Three colour lithograph
Edition size: 25
Paper size: 57 x 76.5 cm
Date: 2003
SOLD OUT
Title: Concierge
Medium: Single colour lithograph
Edition size: 25
Paper size: 56 x 76 cm
Date: 2003
SOLD OUT
Title: Bather
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2003
SOLD
Title: Charlieboy
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2003
SOLD
Title: Montmatre Suite No.1
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2003
SOLD
Title: Montmatre Suite No.2
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2003
SOLD
Title: Montmatre Suite No.3
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2003
SOLD
Title: Figure in the Dark
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2003
SOLD
Title: Camden Town
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2003
SOLD
Title: A Walk in the Dark
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2003
SOLD
Title: Walking the Dog No. 2
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2003
SOLD
Title: Mother and Child
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2002
SOLD
Title: Oscar at the Cafe Royal
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2001
SOLD
Title: Office Redecoration
Medium: Eight colour lithograph
Edition size: 45
Paper size: 76 x 112 cm
Date: 2001
SOLD OUT
Title: Untitled (For Mark & Tammy)
Medium: Monotype
Edition size: 1/1
Date: 2000
SOLD
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