David Hockney



David Hockney, turning 79 this year.

David Hockney was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1937, the 4th of 5 children. When he turned ten he knew that all he wanted to base his life around was art, so when he won a scholarship to go to Bradford Grammar School he wasn't all that happy because he would have preferred to go directly into an art college. However he did go to Bradford Grammar in the end and when he finished school he went on to Bradford Art College. From there, he went on to study at the Royal College of Art in London. David was awarded a Gold medal when he completed his diploma there.

The Road to York through Sledmere, 1997 oil on canvas.

Throughout the 60’s, David’s art career grew and grew. He was always absorbed in his work, he drew, painted and etched for long hours each day, had many exhibitions and won scholarships. One of these led him to the USA. Since then, the most admired galleries across the world have had countless expedition for his extraordinary work.

David bought a home and studio in California in 1970's, but returned to visit his family in Bradford at least twice a year – he spent just 3 Christmases apart from his mother Laura during her lifetime. These days, David spends much of his time in California and his paintings of the East Yorkshire landscape are admired world-wide. We personally met a few people in Robert's park who had come all the way to Saltaire from Liverpool because they had seen one of David Hockney's paintings and thought Saltaire was very beautiful. You can see their interview in the Interview section of this blog.



BMW 850 CSi 1995.

Pear blossom Highway, 11th-18th April 1986, photographic collage.