David Hockney

David Hockney (born July 9, 1937 in Bradford, Yorkshire) is one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. He gained international fame in the 1960s as a prominent member of the Pop Art movement. Hockney studied at the Bradford School of Art and then earned a gold medal at the Royal College of Art in London. Since 1964, he commuted between England and California until settling permanently in Los Angeles in 1978.

His oeuvre includes painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, stage design and digital art. Iconic works include. A Bigger Splash (1967) and A Bigger Grand Canyon (1998), while in the 2000s he impressed with monumental landscapes such as Bigger Trees Near Warter (2007). In 2018, his painting Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) the record for a living artist at auction with proceeds of $90 million. In addition, he co-wrote with Charles M. Falco the influential book Secret Knowledge (2001), on his theory that old masters used optical aids.

In addition to his artwork, Hockney published several books about his own work. My Window (2020) brings 120 iPhone and iPad drawings from his Yorkshire home (2009-2012), with detailed impressions of sunrise, reflections and light.

David Hockney: Paper Trails (2024) collects through a half-century his prints and works on paper, ranging from etchings to digital works, and showcases his experimental and innovative approach within those mediums artbook.com+7Barnes & Noble+7eBay+7. Other important publications are A Bigger Book, which is a comprehensive monograph that brings together highlights of his career, including major paintings and conceptual work, in image and explanation, and David Hockney Louis Vuitton Foundation, a publication surrounding his largest retrospective to date: David Hockney 25 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris (April-August 2025), featuring more than 400 works. Finally David Hockney: 220 - 2020 presumably a special on his works around the age of 83, illustrating his creative energy and constant exploration of light, perspective and digital techniques, in line with his later work that became increasingly experimental.

In summary, Hockney's career constitutes a constant search for innovation: from traditional painting and lithography to pioneering use of digital technologies, once said by him, "Understanding a tool doesn't explain the magic of creation."

His books My Window, Paper Trails, A Bigger Book, David Hockney - Louis Vuitton Foundation, and David Hockney 220 - 2020 highlight each phase in which he interweaves medium, technique and moment into a fresh artistic experience.