“The Second Tea Painting” is a work by the artist David Hockney, created in 1961. It is an oil painting on canvas with dimensions of 61 x 36 inches (155 x 91 cm). The painting is currently held in a private collection. Hockney’s piece is a display of his interest in the interplay of text and image, a characteristic feature of the Pop Art movement which emerged in the 1950s and became prominent in the 1960s.
The painting itself consists of a bold composition with a strong graphic quality, reflecting Hockney’s exploration of commercial and everyday imagery. Dominated by a vivid red rectangle in the center, it features the phrase “Typhoo Tea” in a whimsical, somewhat distorted white lettering on a black background, reminiscent of a tea advertisement sign. Surrounding this central element are abstract splashes and strokes of paint, as well as a realistically depicted lifebuoy to the right, which adds a three-dimensional contrast to the otherwise flat advertisement motif. The lifebuoy is set against a mustard yellow backdrop, which serves as a grounding counterpoint to the red, and it is adorned with the number ’79’ in bold, further emphasizing the painting’s graphic nature. Hockney’s choice of everyday objects, commercial imagery, and the integration of text with visual elements are indicative of the Pop Art genre to which he contributed significantly.
