Drawn Together

When it comes to notable figures within the art world, David Hockney is an artist of the people. In 2011, he was named Britain’s most influential artist. The 1,000 subjects who were surveyed were budding artists and sculptors, demonstrating his lasting influence as well as his appeal to his contemporaries. In 2017, a retrospective of his work at Tate Britain drew its highest ever number of paying visitors. And in 2018, the painting Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) became the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction by a living artist, fetching $90.3 million (the record was reclaimed by Jeff Koons, the following year, when Rabbit (1986) sold for $91.07 million). But while his depictions of pools, and his place within the cubism and pop art movements in the twentieth century have gained him mass appeal and admiration from critics and amateurs alike, it’s Hockney’s fascination with the human form that truly defines him as an artist.

Throughout his six-decade career, portraiture has been the constant as movements, materials and methods (Hockney is often praised for his inventive use of technology in his work) have evolved. And in 2020, this is being brought to light thanks to a special exhibition being held at London’s National Portrait Gallery – David Hockney: Drawing from Life. The exhibition stands as the artist’s first major exhibition devoted to his drawings in over twenty years. Familiar and unseen, old and new pieces make up the 150 curated artworks, and each depicts one of five figures that have fascinated the flamboyant figure throughout his life and work. Each portrait is intimate in style and nature – Hockney draws those he loves, admires and has been inspired by – and demonstrate that people are really at the core of his art. Grit and glamour, age and youth, the familiar and the quizzical are all shown throughout the different wings and divisions of the gallery.

David Hockney Self Portrait with Red Braces, 2003, Watercolour on paper 24 x 18 1/8” © David Hockney.

Photo Credit Richard Schmidt

David Hockney Self Portrait, 1954, Collage on newsprint, 16 ½ x 11 ¾” © David Hockney.

Photo Credit: Richard Schmidt

One of Hockney’s most notable muses is Celia Birtwell. The British textile and fashion designer created garments influenced by the works of artists such as Picasso – a fellow inspiration to Hockney in his work, perhaps predicting the close, lifelong relationship the duo would go on to have. Birtwell and Hockney met in Portobella Market in the 1960s, and she has since gone on to be one of the most famous figures in all his paintings. Hockey followers will recognise the glamorous, romantic figure from works such as 1971 painting Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy, within which she posed alongside her then-husband, Ossie Clark. It remains one of the most viewed pieces in the Tate Britain today. But it’s the more intimate images – as clearly becomes the theme of the exhibition – that move his audience (and perhaps creator) in a different way. In their heyday, it was Celia, Nude that reigned, capturing all of her youthful beauty. In a new unseen sketch, Hockney allows for the passing of time in his work without letting that hint of intrigue and allure disappear.

Her colourful image is replaced with a sepia sketch, further emphasising the passing years as the two grow old together. While quietly beautiful, the subject herself protested at the opening of the exhibition, labelling it “horrible.” She said: “It’s life! One gets old. It is a reality of who you are and what you look like now.... We only ever see ourselves in the mirror, we never ever see how we really are. He sees you as you really are.”

And Birtwell is not the only figure made famous by Hockney as he saw them for who they really are. This exhibition shows more of his famous muses from a fresh perspective – even if seen through the same spectacled eyes. Gregory Evans, Maurice Payne and his own mother, Laura Hockney, lace the halls of the National Portrait Gallery, showcasing the people – and perhaps the work – he values most.

Like Birtwell, Evans is another person truly loved by the artist whom he captured to his core – be it posing nonchalantly or staring begrudgingly in an armchair as Hockney got to work. The two had a close relationship throughout the 1970s, and the intimacy between them is captured through the lack of pretence expressed on Evans’ face in each portrait. From youthful fancy and wonder to aged grit, Evans becomes the everyman in Hockney’s more recent portrayals. He trudges on as he progresses through the stages of life, just like the rest of us. Likewise, friend and collaborator Maurice Payne also upholds the same solemn demeanour throughout the exhibition – his eyes heavy in sketches across the years. Yet as he sat beside Hockney at the launch of the exhibition he was all smiles; Hockney sees and captures emotions in his subjects – his loved ones – that they are not always too willing to portray to the world at large.

And as all of the above muses sat side by side with their friend and admirer, one key person essential to the curation yet missing from the lineup was of course Laura Hockney – his late mother, who passed in 1999. One of the more striking, emotive images of his mother shows her on the day of his father’s funeral. Once again, he simplistically yet skillfully captures that raw emotion.

One of Hockney’s most famous paintings sees her sat beside his also late father, Kenneth, in her signature demure style. My Parents, completed in 1977, is among his most notable works and is the most visited painting at the Tate Britain. But as you enter this new exhibition, the same two figures greet you in an image eerily familiar. My Parents and Myself is the earlier, previously abandoned edition of the final famed piece. While his beloved mother is much the same, the original edition features his father still and patient. The final piece shows him more fidgety, restless – perhaps a note on the fact the original resulted in a family rift, Kenneth being resentful that his travel to Paris (where it was sketched) and patience while sitting (seemingly) went to waste. But the biggest difference is Hockney’s own cameo in the original piece – his reflection in the mirror. Dyed blond hair and bespectacled in his forties, this is the image many of his fans will hold in their mind of the icon.

David Hockney My Parents and Myself, 1976, Oil on canvas with masking tape 72 x 72” © David Hockney.

Photo Credit: Richard

Schmidt, Collection: The David Hockney Foundation; David Hockney Gregory, 1978, Colored pencil on paper, 17 x 14” © David Hockney.

Photo Credit: Richard Schmidt

In fact, Hockney’s most famous subject is himself – the artist has created some 300 plus self-portraits in his career to date. Self-portraits across time and place hold a thread of curiosity, searching and intensity – Hockney is always searching to learn more, even within himself. What this latest curation really shows about the beloved artist is that real, intimate relations are what’s truly at the heart of Hockney’s life and art. Each muse has been with him throughout the years, and his seemingly-simplistically yet technically skilled sketches capture them perfectly.