David Hockney is an English painter, printmaker, photographer and stage designer. Perhaps the most popular and versatile British artist of the 20th century, Hockney made apparent his facility as a draughtsman while studying at Bradford School of Art between 1953 and 1957, producing portraits and observations of his surroundings under the influence of the Euston Road School and of Stanley Spencer. He completed a postgraduate course at the Royal College of Art, London, in 1959 alongside R. B. Kitaj.
The force of Hockney's personality and humour, together with his commanding draughtsmanship and with subjects drawn from his own experience and literary interests, enabled him to transcend his influences and to establish a clear artistic identity at an early age. He was awarded the Royal College of Art gold medal for his year in 1962. Hockney's subsequent development was a continuation of his student work, which was initially regarded by critics as part of the wave of Pop art that emanated from the Royal College of Art. Undoubtedly Hockney's popularity can be attributed not simply to his visual wit and panache but also to this appeal to our own escapist instincts.
David Hockney is an English painter, printmaker, photographer and stage designer. Perhaps the most popular and versatile British artist of the 20th century, Hockney made apparent his facility as a draughtsman while studying at Bradford School of Art between 1953 and 1957, producing portraits and observations of his surroundings under the influence of the Euston Road School and of Stanley Spencer. He completed a postgraduate course at the Royal College of Art, London, in 1959 alongside R. B. Kitaj.
The force of Hockney's personality and humour, together with his commanding draughtsmanship and with subjects drawn from his own experience and literary interests, enabled him to transcend his influences and to establish a clear artistic identity at an early age. He was awarded the Royal College of Art gold medal for his year in 1962. Hockney's subsequent development was a continuation of his student work, which was initially regarded by critics as part of the wave of Pop art that emanated from the Royal College of Art. Undoubtedly Hockney's popularity can be attributed not simply to his visual wit and panache but also to this appeal to our own escapist instincts.