Hockney, David (1937-…), has become the most internationally famous British artist of his time. Hockney is essentially a realistic painter. Much of his art is autobiographical, relating to his own life and the lives of his friends. He is a versatile artist, often exploiting such techniques as photography in the composition of his paintings.
Hockney became one of the first artists to explore the artistic potential of modern technology, such as fax machines, in his works. He is also noted for his photographs, drawings, and prints. Hockney has written two volumes of reminiscences, David Hockney (1976) and That’s the Way I See It (1993). He also wrote Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters (2001), in which he shares his extensive research into understanding the techniques used by old master painters, the great painters who lived before about 1700.
Hockney was born on July 9, 1937, in Bradford, England. He made his first impact on the art world in the early 1960’s as a leader of the English Pop Art movement. In 1964, he moved to Los Angeles. Many of Hockney’s paintings are inspired by southern California’s blue skies, its sunny climate, and the area’s culture of swimming pools and pleasure-seeking lifestyles. His California paintings illustrate his characteristic use of large areas of bold color.
In the 1990’s, Hockney continued his emphasis on bold color with a series of flower paintings inspired by the Dutch painter Jan Vermeer, and another series inspired by the landscapes of Yorkshire, England. Also during the 1990’s, Hockney completed several paintings and drawings of the Grand Canyon. These studies became two large paintings in 1998. A Bigger Grand Canyon is made up of 60 smaller canvases and A Closer Grand Canyon is composed of 96 separate paintings. In the early 2000’s, Hockney painted a series of life-sized portraits.
