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.
Featured image is reproduced from 'David Hockney: Drawing from Life.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Guardian
Jonathan Jones
From joyful sketches of old friends to a nude meeting with Picasso – when Hockney wields his pencil we see the undisguised truth
Telegraph
Alastair Sooke
as intimate as it gets, and barely a swimming pool in sight.
Londonist
Tabish Khan
The story of an artist in evolution.
Daily Mail
Robin Simon
as intimate as it gets, and barely a swimming pool in sight
Financial Times
Jackie Wullschläger
The artist’s dearest friends and family are the focus of an unusual and unmissable retrospective of works on paper
Time Out London
Eddy Frankel
A touching, intimate look at one of the nation’s best artists.
Hyperallergic
Michael Glover
The history of Hockney and his lifelong life-drawing itch, pursued now over seven decades.
Arts and Collections
Chris Jenkins
David Hockney Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery Shines Light on an Artist’s Life
Blackbook
Ken Scrudato
A stunning overview of [Hockney’s] drawings from the late 1950s to the present day.
Interview
Jadie Stillwell
Over the course of 150 pieces, Drawing From Life draws us into Hockney’s closest circle.
Esquire
Nicholas Cullinan
Hockney has always been a confidant draughtsman. Like most young artists, his subjects were himself, those close to him, and his immediate surroundings; domestic interiors and the local landscape. These interests have remained with him throughout his working life; he still draws on every available piece of paper and his creative mind never rests.
Architectural Digest
Janelle Zara
The octogenarian artist is making the most of uncertain times with a newly released book showcasing portraits of his family and dearest friends.
New York Times
Roberta Smith
David Hockney: Drawing From Life [...] is about loved ones and the complex, constantly morphing nature of relationships and the people who forge them. [...] It shows the artist working, as usual, full steam ahead, in different scales and in about a dozen forms of drawing (pencil, ink, charcoal and so on) and printmaking (lithography, etchings and etchings with aquatint) as well as with composite Polaroids and an iPad. It is beyond ample as a showcase for Mr. Hockney’s towering drawing gifts, openness to new technologies and his incessant work ethic…
New York Times
Roberta Smith
Derives its poignant power from its loved ones and the complex nature of relationships.
Wallpaper*
Pheobe Gardner
David Hockney: Drawing from Life, celebrates more than 60 years of the revered artist’s intimate portraiture with texts by Sarah Howgate and Isabel Seligman. Featuring drawings from the 1950s to the present day, the book is a fascinating window into the artist’s creative development and to his personal life, focusing on depictions of himself and those close to him.
Artnet
Jo Lawson-Tancred
Returning to the same subjects throughout his life, Hockney shows us how to capture someone's essence on canvas.
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Titled "Gregory, Los Angeles, March 31st 1982," this evocative composite Polaroid from David Hockney: Drawing from Life captures Gregory Evans, Hockney's intimate friend and consistent model for more than fifty years—as well as his assistant, studio manager, and now, curator and adviser. "I’ve drawn a lot of Gregory," Hockey is quoted. "I think the way I draw, the more I know and react to people, the more interesting the drawings will be," Hockney says elsewhere in the book. "I don’t really like struggling for a likeness. It seems a bit of a waste of effort… If you don’t know the person, you don’t really know if you’ve got a likeness at all." continue to blog
David Hockney's 1978 "Mother, Bradford. 19 Feb 1978" is reproduced from Drawing from Life, the essential new catalog from National Portrait Gallery, London. Featuring no fewer than 23 portraits of the artist's mother, Laura Hockney, a vegetarian and committed Methodist who always supported her son's desire to be an artist, this book is all about Hockney's muses. He made this extra-compelling drawing on the day of his father's funeral. Curator Sarah Howgate notes the artist's use of sepia ink and reed pen, as Van Gogh had done in his portraits. "Using a minimal line, Hockney conveys the sadness in his mother’s face as she looks directly at her son, as if seeing her husband reflected in him." continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9.75 x 10.5 in. / 208 pgs / 150 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $45.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $63 ISBN: 9781855147973 PUBLISHER: National Portrait Gallery, London AVAILABLE: 4/28/2020 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Published by National Portrait Gallery, London. Text by Sarah Howgate.
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.
