The Art of David Hockney

One of my favorite artists of the past 50 years is David Hockney.  Born in 1937 in England, he has had an extraordinary career.  When Ron and I started collecting art in the 1980's, Hockney was one of our favorite artists.  At one time we had a print from his pool series, an original oil of his favorite dog, and several prints from his theatre works, which were drawings of the sets he designed for operas.  The only one we still have is the drawing of his dog.

 Ron and I visited long time friends in Phoenix recently.  Our hostess, Ellen, said the Heard Museum had a show of Hockney's Yosemite paintings.  This was the first exhibit of Hockney's in Arizona! I couldn't wait to see it. The exhibit combined the prints of Hockney's that were done in 2010 and 2011 with a few of his photographic collages from the 1980's, and baskets made by indigenous women, inspired by the same landscape that Hockney painted.  The 20 baskets that were displayed were examples of Mono Lake Paiute and Miwok basketry from early-mid 20th century.  Hockney's prints were first drawn on his iPad, then transferred to larger paper.  This is just one example of how David Hockney has evolved over the years, always trying out new techniques.

In 2018 Hockney's 1972 work Portrait of an Artists (pool with two figures) sold at Christies for $90million.  Over the years, David Hockney has done portraits, printmaking, photocollages, plein air landscapes, and theatre works, where he designed sets and costumes for opera in the 1980's.  He is truly one of the most recognized and respected artists of the 20th century and beyond.