David Hockney

Born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1937, David Hockney is a painter, printmaker, photographer and stage designer; an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century.

After studying at Bradford School of Art from 1953 to 1957, Hockney arrived in London to study at the Royal College of Art in 1959 where he experimented with abstraction, winning The Royal College of Art gold medal in 1962 in recognition of his mastery as a draughtsman and for his innovative paintings. After R.B. Kitaj (a fellow student) suggested that Hockney should paint what interested him, his work became figurative and unashamedly autobiographical; from his portraits of his relatives and friends as well as images of Los Angeles swimming pools, through to his photography and Yorkshire landscapes, Hockney’s style continues to change.

David Hockney's large body of graphic work, which initially focused on etching and lithography, has assured him an important place in modern art with his early graphic works laying the foundations for his artistic career. Much of this early work was autobiographical and alluding to the artist’s sexuality. Since then, the fundamentals of his personal style and vision remain; wit and humour, personal subject matter, and commanding draftsmanship.

Hockney's work is included in a number of public collections including: The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii; Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, California; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York; Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; National Museums of Liverpool, England; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana; Tate Britain, London, England; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York