DAVID HOCKNEY Johnny and Lindsay, 1979

David Hockney was born in Yorkshire, England. He studied first at Bradford College of Art then the Royal College of Art in London, where he featured in an exhibition called ‘Young Contemporaries’ which heralded the advent of British Pop Art. When required to write an essay for his final examination he drew a sketch instead. At first refusing to allow him to graduate the college reconsidered in recognition of his talent and awarded his diploma. In 1963 David Hockney moved to California and, inspired by his surroundings, started to experiment with different media including acrylic paint, which he used to create a series of paintings of swimming pools in brilliant colors, of which the best known is entitled ‘A Bigger Splash.’ The settings portray a calm stillness which emphasizes the movement of the water. At this time David Hockney met Henry Geldzahler from the Metropolitan Museum in New York, who became his patron. Another favorite medium of Hockney is photography and he uses a Polaroid camera to capture images which he uses as a basis for his paintings. In the 1980s David Hockney started producing collages of photographs, each individual snap being pieced together to create a whole picture which is reminiscent of a reflection in a cracked mirror. David Hockney is especially popular as a portrait artist and is known for creating double portraits such as ‘Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy’, which is one of his best known works. In the 1970s he began designing stage sets for opera, emphasizing his skill with graphics and model making. One of the largest ever exhibitions of his work was held at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2006, while in 2012 The Royal Academy showed more than 150 of Hockney’s landscapes, many of which were inspired by his native Yorkshire. Less

David Hockney was born in Yorkshire, England. He studied first at Bradford College of Art then the Royal College of Art in London, where he featured in an exhibition called ‘Young Contemporaries’ which heralded the advent of British Pop Art. When More