A Guide to the Work of David Hockney

David Hockney (b. 1937) is an English painter and is considered one of the most prominent artists of the 20^th and 21^stcenturies. Having been featured in over 400 solo exhibitions, with his first commissioned when he was just 26, Hockney is celebrated across the world for his varied and thought-provoking works. His eponymously titled exhibition at the Tate Britain in 2017 was the most-visited exhibition in the gallery’s history. Due to such renown, Hockney’s work also enjoys great success at auction, not least the 2018 sale of his 1972 painting ‘Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)’, which at the time became the most expensive work by a living artist sold at auction, going for $90 million in New York City.

^{David Hockney (b.1937), Home - From 'Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm'}

^{Sold for £9,500}

Born in Bradford, Hockney first studied at the School of Art there, before training at the Royal College of Art, London, from 1959-1962. Although at this time, many artists were moving towards abstract expressionism, Hockney was drawn to more direct depictions. As he himself has said, ‘I am not that interested in painting that doesn’t depict the visible world’. As a result, Hockney encourages his audiences to pay attention to the way in which he presents familiar images upon his canvases.

^{David Hockney (b.1937), California Scene (1966)}

^{Sold for £2,200}

Hockney is perhaps most famous for his influence upon the world of pop art, a movement which emerged in the late-1950s, incorporating images of popular culture and often those of advertisement into works of art. Pop art takes an ironic and parodic approach to these cultures, in emulation of the anti-establishment Dadaism movement of the 1910s. Hockney was inspired through his move to Los Angeles in 1964, leading to a variety of works depicting swimming pools in acrylic form. Perhaps his most famous work is ‘A Bigger Splash’, a 1967 painting that depicts a swimming pool, bathed in sunlight, marked by a splash that clashes with the still and peaceful atmosphere that surrounds it. Signalling his departure from abstract approaches, the splash is not thrown upon the canvas but carefully placed, through small brushstrokes which depict the water in meticulous detail. Hockney has also painted a variety of portraits in this pop art style, including his work ‘Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott’, which sold for £37 million in 2019.

^{David Hockney (b.1937), The Haunted Castle - From 'Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm,'}

^{Sold for £2,200}

Alongside his painting, Hockney also engages in a plethora of other forms, including but not limited to drawing, printmaking, stage designing, and photography. In the 1970s, Hockney experimented with Polaroid photographs, and in recent times, he has taking to drawing with an iPad, embracing, and adapting to the fast-growing involvement of technology in art.

Due to the variety of his work, and in particular his adoption of modern technology in recent years, Hockney has enjoyed a highly successful reputation at auction. His works range in value at auction from the thousands to the millions, varied by factors such as form, quality, size, and condition. As a result, it is crucial to obtain a professional examination and valuation of a Hockney work, and for this, there is no better choice than Dawsons. Our expert Valuers offer both online and in-person valuations, according to your preference, and offer only the highest customer service for our clients.

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