Hockney's Pictures

'A compelling narrative of the workings of a curious, intelligent, visually inventive mind at work … a book designed to instil pleasure and to lift the spirits' Art Quarterly

The story of David Hockney, one of the most widely acclaimed of all living artists, is one of passion: passion for seeing, passion for telling, passion for images. But to these should be added passion for life. Hockney's art is a celebration of what it is to be alive. All his pictures - sometimes tender, as when he draws close friends and family; sometimes playful, as in his paintings of lazy, carefree days at the pool; sometimes awe-inspirin, as with his monumental images of the Grand Canyon - convey what it means to be in the world, to see it, to move in it, to love it. This constant exploration of how to communicate such feelings through art emerges with particular clarity in this stunning, lively volume, which charts almost fifty years of extraordinary creativity.

Hockney's Pictures is the first definitive 'retrospective' to show the evolution and diversity of Hockney's prolific paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints and photography. The works, including many that are new and never published, have been selected and organized by David Hockney himself, and track his lifelong experiments in ways of looking and depicting.

Contents List:

Introduction: Loving the world with new eyes • Problems of Depiction: Looking at Pictures • A Marriage of Styles • Stages • Water • Movement • Moving Viewpoint • Life Stilled: Life and Love • Lives • Still Life • Home • Portraits: Friends • Family • Self • Space and Light: South • West • East • North London • Yorkshire

About the Author:

David Hockney is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. He has produced work in almost every medium - painting, drawing, stage design, photography and printmaking - and has stretched the boundaries of all of them. Born in Bradford, England, in 1937, Hockney attended art school in London before moving to Los Angeles in the 1960s. There, he painted his famous swimming pool paintings. In a 2011 poll of more than 1,000 British artists, Hockney was voted the most influential British artist of all time. He continues to create and exhibit art.