1. David Hockney Portraits

2. BACKGROUND Artist – David Hockney Lived – 1937 – present
Born in – Bradford, England
Hockney was always seen as an eccentric in Bradford and he never really cared what people thought of him. He was obsessed with opera and literature and this later inspired his work and set designs.
Rejected Movement/s – Hockney was originally associated with the Pop Art movement but his early work had expressionist elements. His work has similarities to a variety of movements from cubism to realism.
Inspired by – Hockney has been inspired by cubism and realism throughout his artistic career. His work has similarities to the work of Edward Hopper, Van Gogh, Picasso and Kandinsky (landscapes). His portraits have similarities to that of Grant Wood, Hopper and Mattisse and many realism / realism impressionism artists. His subject matter is similar to themes explored by artists like Egon Shiele or the more contemporary artist, Tristan Pigott.
Studied– He studied at Bradford College of Art and then at the Royal College of Art in London.
Style – Hockney was a keen photographer and this influenced his painting style. At the beginning of his career he painted portraits, landscapes and created cubist style, photo collages inspired by literature. He also worked on stage set designs, graphic design and photographic collages. His more contemporary work is bigger and bolder in colour. He is one of the most well known artists emerging from the 60s art scene in Britain.
Main Subject Matter - Portraits, family scenes, landscapes, buildings, swimming pools and everyday scenes.
Went on to inspire – A new generation of colourful contemporary portrait painters. Tristan Pigott, and John Byrne could be named as artists who have similarities to Hockney’s style.
Hockney still creates work to this day. He now uses an ipad to help him create artwork as age has made painting vast canvases difficult for him.
David Hockney
‘Self portrait with Charlie’
John Byrne ‘Self Portrait’
Tristan Pigott
‘Waiting Room’

3. Influences from the Wider World
Hockney was inspired the films that he watched frequently with his father. He was drawn to the light and the drama of Hollywood
He was influenced by literature and poetry in his early work.
He studied alongside Peter Blake and Allen Jones so was inspired by the Pop Art culture of the 1960s and 70s.
Hockney moved to Los Angeles in 1963 and was influenced by the relaxed and sunny atmosphere. He became well known for his paintings of swimming pools and this reflected the culture of his life in LA.
With the development of photography as an artistic and technological medium, Hockney began to use photography to capture images of Californian homes. He would print polaroids and stick them together, he called these creations a ‘joiner’. He became well known for these collages.
Having become quite famous in the 1960s and 70s, Hockney was influenced by, and friends with, other contemporary artists like Andy Warhol and actor/ filmmaker / artist Dennis Hopper.
During Hockney’s formative years, he was inspired by the popular culture of the 1960s and 70s. It was a time after the war that saw the introduction of colour tv, American influences, rock and roll and a free, liberal society.
In his more recent work, Hockney has returned to his roots in Yorkshire and created many landscapes that illustrate the changing seasons and moods of the countryside.
Andy Warhol – Pop Art
David Hockney – ‘A Bigger Splash’
Peter Blake – ‘Self Portrait with Badges’
Peter Blake – ‘On the Balcony’ –
David Hockney – ‘joiner’ example

4. Hockney and his work

5. What emotions does this piece of work convey?
Title – My Mother
Artist – David Hockney
Date – 1982
Medium –
Size – 24x24 inch
When Hockney was painting Californian interiors he created the first Joiner. The Joiner’s are many polaroid photos laid out together in a grid. He originally used photos to help him paint and arrange compositions however, he realised that they created there own art and so he decided to keep creating similar images.
This portrait of Hockney’s Mother and it was one of his first joiner collage’s. As the photographs are taken from different perspectives and at slightly different times, the result is work that has an affinity with Cubism, which was one of Hockney’s major aims – discussing the way human vision works. When taking a picture of someone he would get the subject to move while being photographed so that the piece would show the movements of the subject seen from the photographer’s perspective. In later works Hockney changed his technique and moved the camera around the subject instead.
This portrait shows his Mother, in old age, sitting in a graveyard at Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire.
The view is elongated and we see a surrounding landscape – why do you think Hockney has taken this photo in this context?
What emotions does this piece of work convey?
How does this photographic collage link with cubism?
The visual elements line, shape, colour texture and pattern have been used – can you comment on where and how?
Think about the composition – what angle are we viewing the portrait from and what is the impact of this?
Cubist style Pablo Picasso
‘Girl with Mandolin’ 1910

6. Title – Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy Artist – David Hockney
Date – Medium –Acrylic on canvas
Size – 84x120 inch
Hockney created this portrait in This piece of work is part of a series of large double portraits which Hockney began in He had painted imaginary couples in such earlier paintings. In the later paintings, the subjects are real couples who were Hockney’s friends. They are portrayed in their home environment in a style which is both realistic and highly simplified. Hockney worked from photographs and life observation, making drawings to resolve composition. Usually one character looks at the other, who looks out of the painting at the viewer, thus creating a cyclical movement of looking.
Percy is the name of one of the Clarks’ cats and refers to the cat sitting statue-like on Mr Clark’s knee, looking out of the window. Hockney has pointed out that his painting reversed one of the conventions of wedding portraiture, by seating the man while the woman stands.
An abstract and simplistic blend of still life objects and portraiture – how does this piece link to Hockney’s other work?
Interesting composition – what does Hockney make a focal point?
How has Hockney used light in this portrait?
Does it feel realistic or abstract?
Composed of simple shapes and lines
What do the objects, and there arrangement, symbolise ?
He has used texture, where and how?
Hockney, ‘Study for Mrs and Mrs Clark and Percy’, 1970
Hockney, ‘My Parents’, 1977, 72x72 inch

7. Title – Henry Artist – David Hockney Date – 1988
Hockney has used oil paints to create a thick, bold colour on the canvas. He has used an abstract and vivid colour palette. The paint has been applied heavily to create strong, bold colours. This portrait is of Hockney’s good friend, Henry Geldzahler. He was a well known contemporary art curator and he died in Hockney has created many portraits of Henry and he appears to paint him in an open and friendly manner. Hockney has painted this portrait in simple way, both in terms of the composition, (sitter sits straight forward) and of his use of colour and texture (the pattern on Henry’s shirt and his beard is painted in a simple and expressive way).
Unlike many of Hockney’s other portraits, he has painted Henry individually and this perhaps suggests a closeness between them. It also seems light and relaxed due to the use of bright colours and a focal, centred view.
How has Hockney created variation and contrast in the background?
How do you feel when you study this painting?
Painterly, organic brush strokes used
Textural marks give beard and shirt movement and form
A miminal background helps contrast with the sitter and frames the figure
The detail in the face and eyes suggest a familiarity between the painter and the sitter
A similar colour palette to other work Hockney painted during the same time period
Title – Henry
Artist – David Hockney
Date – 1988
Medium – Oil on canvas
Size – 24x24 inch
David Hockney ‘Kasmin’ 1988
David Hockney ‘Livingroom at Malibu with View’ 1988

8. Title – My Parents Artist – David Hockney Date – 1977
In this work, painted a year before his father's death, Hockney's style has shifted towards a closer study of human behaviour. His mother poses, attentive and graceful, while his father, who fidgeted during sittings, is posed reading a book. This style of pose (using two sitters) was explored frequently by Hockney. This simplified and tight style is remiminiscent of Edward Hopper’s portraiture compositions.
Hockney has used a bright colour palette and applied tone and texture in a simplistic and thoughtful way. The way Hockney has carefully painted his Mother, looking directly forwards, suggests a sense of comfort, ease and love between them. Her regal stance also suggests respect and dignity. The reflection in the mirror has been considered by Hockney and can perhaps tell us more about the kind of scene his parents inhabited.
Hockney created many ‘double portraits’ around this time
He has used oil paints to create a smooth appearance on canvas
Hockney has used a mirror to reflect the background scene – why?
Hockney has used a bright and bold colour palette using predominantly cool colours
Like many of Hockney’s paintings he has used colour, line, shape, pattern and texture to create a simplified and abstract piece of work – where are these visual elements used?
How does this painting make you feel? Why?
Hockney has created a sense of character in his parents – how has he done this?
How is this painting similar to some of Hockney’s other work?
Title – My Parents
Artist – David Hockney
Date – 1977
Medium – Oil on canvas
Size – 1829 x 1829 mm
Edward Hopper, ‘Summer Evening’ 1947