David
Hockney

Multidisciplinary Artist

Share this page

The colourful canvas of David Hockney

David Hockney, one of the most influential and recognisable British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, has long captivated audiences with his unique and colourful style. 

His life and career have been marked by a relentless pursuit of artistic innovation, a fierce determination to express himself authentically, and an unwavering passion for creating beautiful, touching works of art.

From his early beginnings in the north of England, to his life in Los Angeles, Hockney’s ability to capture the most simple of moments has resonated with generations of art lovers. 

David Hockney by Andy Warhol, c. 1972 - 1974 ・ Polaroid ・ Previously unpublished before c. 2017 ・ Courtesy of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Inc./Artimage

"What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing. You wouldn't be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought."

Early life and education

Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on July 9, 1937, David Hockney was the fourth of five children to Laura and Kenneth Hockney. From an early age, he displayed a passion for art, receiving encouragement from both his parents and his teachers. In 1953, at just 16 years old, Hockney enrolled at the Bradford School of Art, where he honed his artistic skills and began to develop his unique style.

In 1959, Hockney moved to London to attend the prestigious Royal College of Art, where he studied alongside other influential artists like Peter Blake and R.B. Kitaj. It was here that Hockney’s career truly began to take off, as he delved into the world of contemporary art and began to create works that would later become iconic.

 

The swinging sixties

The 1960s marked a turning point in Hockney’s career. His innovative, colourful, and often controversial works helped define the Swinging Sixties in London, and he became an integral part of the city’s thriving art scene. In 1961, Hockney created “We Two Boys Together Clinging”, a painting inspired by a Walt Whitman poem and an early indication of his exploration of themes related to his own sexuality.

Hockney’s first solo exhibition took place in 1963 at the John Kasmin Gallery in London, where he showcased his “Love Paintings’”series. These pieces boldly tackled themes of love, desire and intimacy, and earned Hockney recognition as an avant-garde artist. Among these works was “Domestic Scene, Los Angeles” which depicted two men in a shower, a daring subject matter for the time.

In 1964, Hockney moved to Los Angeles, a city that would significantly impact his art and life. The bright, sun-drenched landscapes of Southern California became the backdrop for some of his most iconic works. These paintings, including “The Splash” (1966) and ‘A Bigger Splash’ (1967), captured the essence of the California lifestyle, depicted with vibrant colours and clean, geometric lines.

Hockney’s fascination with the Californian landscape extended to the people who inhabited it. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he created a series of double portraits featuring friends, artists, and curators, such as “American Collectors (Fred and Marcia Weisman)” (1968) and “Shirley Goldfarb and Gregory Masurovsky”(1974).

We Two Boys Together Clinging, 1961 ・ Oil on Board ・ 121.9h x 152.4w (cm) ・ Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre ・ © David Hockney

Domestic Scene - Los Angeles, 1962 - 1963 ・ Oil on Canvas ・ 152.7h x 152.7w (cm) ・ Private Collection ・ © David Hockney

A Bigger Splash, 1967 ・ Acrylic on Canvas ・ 242.5h x 243.9w (cm) ・ Tate Collection, Tate Britain ・ Purchased 1981 ・ © David Hockney

American Collectors (Fred and Marcia Weisman), 1968 ・ Acrylic on Canvas ・ 213.4h x 304.8w (cm) ・ The Art Institute of Chicago ・ Purchased with funds provided by Mr and Mrs Frederic G. Pick ・ © David Hockney

Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott, 1969 ・ Acrylic on Canvas ・ 214h x 305w (cm) ・ Sold at Christie’s for £37,661,250 (2019) ・ © David Hockney

Shirley Goldfarb and Gregory Masurovsky, 1974 ・ Oil on canvas ・ 114.62h × 213.36w (cm) ・ The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, US ・ © David Hockney

A career of exploration 

By the late 1970s, Hockney had become fascinated with photography, particularly the concept of using multiple images to create a single, cohesive piece. This interest culminated in the creation of his “Joiners” a series of photographic collages that depicted various scenes in a fragmented and unconventional way. One of the most famous joiners, “Pearblossom Highway” (1986), captured a stretch of road in California and showcased Hockney’s ability to manipulate perspective and create an immersive experience for the viewer.

Beyond painting and photography, Hockney also ventured into the world of stage design. In the 1970s and 1980s, he designed sets and costumes for numerous theatre and opera productions, including Stravinsky’s ‘A Rake’s Progress’ (1975) and Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ (1978). His bold and imaginative designs brought a fresh and modern approach to the world of theatre, garnering acclaim from both audiences and critics alike.

Never one to shy away from innovation, Hockney embraced new technology throughout his career. In the late 1980s, he began experimenting with the Quantel Paintbox, an early digital painting system, to create colourful, computer-generated images. This fascination with technology continued into the 21st century when Hockney began using an iPad to create digital drawings and paintings. His 2010 exhibition, “David Hockney: Fleurs Fraîches”, showcased these iPad creations, further demonstrating his ability to adapt and evolve as an artist.

Pearblossom Highway, 11-18th April 1986 #2, 1968 ・ Chromogenic Print ・ 181.6h x 271.8w (cm) ・ Getty Museum Collection ・ © David Hockney

Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), 1972 ・ Acrylic on Canvas ・ 213.5h x 305w (cm) ・ Sold at Christie’s for $90,312,500 (2018) ・ © David Hockney

David Hockney’s career has spanned over six decades, and his work continues to be celebrated and admired worldwide. In 2012, he was the subject of a major retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, titled “David Hockney: A Bigger Picture”.  The exhibition featured his large-scale landscapes of the Yorkshire countryside, where he had returned to live in the early 2000s. The exhibition was met with widespread acclaim and record-breaking attendance numbers.

In 2018, Hockney’s painting “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” (1972) set a new record for the highest price ever paid for a work by a living artist when it sold for $90.3 million at auction. This milestone reinforced Hockney’s status as one of the most influential and esteemed artists of our time.

In his colourful and vivid creations, we find a world filled with joy, beauty, and emotion – a world that invites us to embrace the endless variety of the human spirit.

 

Image Credits
 · Banner Image : Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy, 1970 · Acrylic Paint on Canvas · 2134h x 3048w (cm) · Tate Collection, Tate Britain · Presented by the Friends of the Tate Gallery, 1971 · © David Hockney

Related artists

Stella Arion

Zoya Smirnova

Agnes Martin