Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy · Story behind the painting
SHORT TEST
1. Who painted the picture?
2. What did Ossie and Celia do?
3. What does the open window symbolize?
4. What happened to the couple later?
5. What happened to Ossie Clark in 1996?
Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy · Story script
Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy was painted by the British artist David Hockney in 1971. It is a portrait of two of his friends, Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell, and their cat Percy.
Ossie and Celia were successful fashion designers in London. Hockney painted them in their flat in Notting Hill. Celia is standing and Ossie is sitting, which was unusual for a traditional portrait of a married couple.
The couple are separated by a large open window. Hockney used this detail to suggest distance in their relationship. Percy, the white cat sitting on Ossie, has often been interpreted as a symbol of infidelity.
The couple later divorced. Ossie Clark died in 1996. He was murdered by his former lover in his Kensington flat.