Celebrating more than 60 years of intimate portraiture by David
Hockney
Published to accompany a major international exhibition, David Hockney:
Drawing from Life features Hockney's drawings from the 1950s to the
present day, and focuses on his depictions of himself and a small group
of sitters close to him: his muse, Celia Birtwell; his mother, Laura
Hockney; and his friends, the curator, Gregory Evans, and master
printer, Maurice Payne. In his portrait drawings of these figures,
Hockney tries out new stylistic experiments and expresses his admiration
for his artistic predecessors, from Holbein to Picasso.
Featuring 150 beautifully reproduced works from public and private
collections across the world, this publication traces the trajectory of
Hockney's drawing practice by examining how he has revisited these five
figures throughout his career. Highlights include a series of new
portraits, colored pencil drawings created in Paris in the early 1970s,
composite Polaroid portraits from the 1980s and a selection of drawings
from an intense period of self-scrutiny during the 1980s when the artist
created a self-portrait every day for two months.
David Hockney (born 1937) is considered one of the most celebrated
British contemporary artists. Hockney studied at the Bradford School of
Art and the Royal College of Art with R.B. Kitaj, Allen Jones and Derek
Boshier. Graduating with a gold medal, he became a leading figure in pop
art. His work encompasses drawing, painting, printmaking, photography
and stage design.
