It was colour that first drew Howard Hodgkin to Pitzhanger Manor over a decade ago. The celebrated artist, who died in 2017, was struck by this former countryside residence of John Soane, which is resplendent with all of the Neoclassical detailing one would expect from the famed Regency architect, as well as his trademark experiments in lumière mystérieuse, a technique that harnesses the mythical and atmospheric properties of light.
Hodgkin found an immediate affinity with this emotional charge, having already spent decades developing a complex layering of colour, form and texture that could speak to human emotion and personal memory. Since his 2009 exhibition of prints at the house, a major refurbishment has restored many of Soane’s original architectural conceits, including an intricately decorated roof lantern through which honeyed hues flood into the entrance hall, and a conservatory flanked by diamond-lattice columns, which reflects slices of deep orange and indigo across both walls and floor.
It seems natural, then, that a major retrospective of both his prints and paintings should return to the property. Titled In a Public Garden after a 1990s etching of the same name, the exhibition celebrates his gestural works that are as astounding in their execution and scale as their emotional presence. In Soane’s day, printed editions were usually produced in considerable runs, either as diminutive, monochrome copies of more complex works on canvas, or else acerbic pieces of political satire more akin to cartoons.
By contrast, Hodgkin pushes the boundaries of a variety of printmaking techniques, including line and aquatint etching, carborundum (which forms a gritty, textured surface) and screen-printing, often creating one-of-a-kind works that could never be fully replicated. Rather than treating printing as a form of reproduction, he saw it as an expansive umbrella of manifold processes and materials beneath which he could test different techniques.
The results are a joy to behold and at times seem close to unfathomable, thanks to their considerable scale. In his ‘Venice’ series, for example, expressive spattered dots act like a form of jubilant, flamboyant pointillism, adorning collaged sheets of paper that stretch over a metre across, with each impression featuring a different combination of colours that the artist has meticulously recorded.
This quadrant of works depicts a Venetian scene at various times of day, from the light-filled haze of early morning (articulated in shades of ultramarine and viridian green) to the dark inkiness of night, where elements of nasturtium orange and red ochre are swallowed up by carbon black. This same shadowy tone is used to drench the walls showing the only paintings. When sparsely illuminated, they appear more jewel-like than ever, bursting forth from their overpainted frames in equally pigmented oils.
Elsewhere, Hodgkin’s prints populate the domestic interiors, and it is here that his mastery truly shines. One cannot help but draw connections between Mango (1990–1), a gorgeous, juicy shape printed in shades of viridian green and apricot yellow, with the aforementioned coloured glass of the conservatory beyond. This piece sits with other prints alluding to swimming pools, which pop against the cherry-red walls they are hung on.
Downstairs, the artist’s ongoing obsession with palm trees (be they from memories of Tangier or travel posters he recalled from the Paris metro) is demonstrated in the dining room. Street Palm (1990–1) features citric-green fronds framed by a thick border of orange, in a composition that has an unlikely affinity with the classical archways and marble fireplace it hangs above. Moreover, there is a literal connection with semi-tropical planting in the garden viewed beyond (reflecting Soane’s own fashionable taste for the exotic).
Another final thread can be drawn between Hodgkin’s own forays into the realm of architecture. In 1992 he collaborated with the architect Charles Correa to create an enormous black-and-white mural for the British Council in New Delhi, formed from small rectangular tiles inspired by historical Mughal earthenware that Hodgkin fastidiously collected.
His maquette sits in a vitrine in the breakfast room, surrounded by preparatory drawings and objects from his own collection. It is a nod not only to the vast influences that have informed the artist’s work, but a kinship with Soane’s own creative leanings. Two great minds, over a century part, feel at home together in this great house.
‘Howard Hodgkin: In a Public Garden’ runs at Pitzhanger Manor, Ealing, until 8 March 2026. For more information, visit pitzhanger.org.uk
‘The Story of Printmaking’, by Holly EJ Black, is published by Yale University Press
