DAVID HOCKNEY: DRAWING FROM LIFE

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT: Britain’s National Gallery will see a return of the five-star exhibition, ‘David Hockney: Drawing from Life,’ which was staged for just 20 days before the Gallery’s closure due to Covid in March 2020.”

The exhibition, which opened on November 2, 2023, will continue through January 21, 2024: As described by the Gallery: “The exhibition explores the artist’s work over the last six decades through his intimate portraits of five sitters: his mother, Celia Birtwell, Gregory Evans, Maurice Payne and the artist himself.” 

Previous Views. Hockney is no stranger to SimanaitisSays. “Hockney Art: Stage and i” combined the artist’s work in theater set design and his later affinity for iPhone and iPad art. “Many Flutes Are Magical” celebrated his set designs for Mozart’s Zauberflöte. In “David Hockney at the Met”, I described Hockney as “my favorite artist, living or otherwise.” “Hockney’s Drive” took us along his favorite Southern California roads, including Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica, artfully described by Alex Ross in his “A Road Trip With David Hockney and Richard Wagner,” The New Yorker, online January 11, 2021 (and in the print edition January 18, 2021).

Image from independent.co.uk. 

Here are selections from the National Gallery exhibition with tidbits gleaned from the Gallery’s notes.  

Celia, Carennac, August 1971. Coloured pencil on paper, 1971

From the Gallery notes: “Textile designer, Celia Birtwell, has been a dear friend and close confidante to David Hockney since the 1960s. With their northern roots and shared sense of humour, they found they had much in common from their first meeting and together they were at the heart of bohemian London. The artist has always been fascinated by the changing nature of Celia’s face, and she remains to this day, one of his favourite models.”

“Although often dubbed Hockney’s ‘muse’, their relationship is much more than that. They have always admired each other’s work and her sittings for him have been collaborations, as well as an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company. In his portraits of Celia, the artist has always paid close attention to her distinctive and romantic fabric designs and some of Celia’s own work is inspired by the artist.”

Harry Styles, 31st May 2022. Acrylic on canvas.  

Styles was painted in Hockney’s Normandy Studio. From the Gallery notes: “In the spring of 2019 the artist moved to Normandy, an area of northern France which has inspired many painters, most notably the Impressionist, Claude Monet. Hockney embarked on a new project there; recording the surrounding landscape through the seasons as he had done between 2004 and 2013 in East Yorkshire.”

“In 2021, as Hockney emerged from the quarantine imposed on him by Covid, he began to invite people into his studio again. After a year spent recording the landscape around his home using an iPad, Hockney returned to painting portraits, taking delight in holding brushes again.” 

Hockney paints pop star Harry Styles. (In the background, portrait of Clive Davis.) Photo: Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima. 

From the Gallery notes: “Gregory Evans and Hockney began an intimate relationship in Paris in 1974, when both lived on the left bank of the Seine. A consistent model for 50 years, assistant, studio manager and curator, the portraits tell the story of the ebb and flow of their time spent together.”

Gregory. Coloured pencil on paper, 1978.

From Wikipedia: “While no longer romantically involved, they [Hockney and Evans] still work together, with Evans managing the David Hockney Studio. Hockney’s current partner is longtime companion Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima. Also known as JP, he also works with Hockney in his studio as his chief assistant.”

Self-portrait, 22nd November 2021. Acrylic on canvas, 2021. 

Roisin O’Conner writes in The Independent, November 1, 2023, “Aged 86, Hockney remains one of the UK’s most prolific artists…. In an interview with The Independent, Hockney said he has ‘never been busier,’ with his move to Normandy serving as a creative catalyst that gave him ‘a new lease of life.’ ”

What a wonderfully positive attitude! ds 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2023