David Hockney

English painter, printmaker, and photographer
British (English), b. born 1937
An accomplished painter, printmaker, photographer, and scenographer, David Hockney is probably one of the most versatile British artists of the 20th century. Between 1953 and 1957, he studied at the Bradford School of Art, producing portraits and observations of his surroundings. He began his post-doctorate studies at the Royal College of Art London in 1959, where he turned first to the discipline of drawing from life. Throughout his career, the human figure would prove to be Hockney's preferred subject matter. During the 1960s, Hockney developed his own personal vision of Pop Art, interjecting playful and ironic elements. In his swimming pool pictures, Hockney juxtaposes accurate renditions of the human form with abstract renditions of water. His photographic work remained unknown to the public until the 1980s, which were then exhibited worldwide. In these works he creates collages of images taken with a Polaroid SX 70 using a cubist idiom. Time, picture surface, repetition, and shifting planes characterize these works.