David Hockney: A Bigger Picture

by Marco Livingstone, Tim Barringer

David Hockney, one of the world’s greatest living artists, is creating some of the most significant work of his long career, painting the landscape and changing seasons of his native Yorkshire. These large, colorful works are the capstone of his engagement with nature, not only in England but also in the American Southwest, through the media of painting and photography. This book, the catalog of the first major Hockney museum exhibition in many years, offers a glorious view of the landscape as seen by the artist, and it includes not only his recent paintings but also his iPhone and iPad drawings. Essays by leading art historians—as well as a more literary piece by novelist Margaret Drabble and Hockney’s own reflections on his recent work—explore Hockney’s art from various perspectives.

Praise for David Hockney:

"Supplemented with numerous essays by art critics and Hockney himself, this is a mesmerizing volume of an established artist who continues to assert his dynamic relevancy." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

 "This glorious volume showcases this unique and exhilarating body of work, which celebrates the pulse of life in trees, fields, flowers, and clouds over the great cycle of the seasons . . . The enlightening commentary is merely prelude to a swoon once the reader turns to the 300 resplendent color reproductions." —Booklist, starred review

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art and Photography, Biography

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2012

Reviews

[Judith Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son bought me and my husband tickets to see the Bigger Picture Exhibition in 2012 for my birthday, and a friend bought me this book, also as a birthday present. It has sat on my shelves for the last ten years, but I’ve finally got round to reading all the articles and looking, slowly and carefully, at all the paintings.

It has been a real joy, stimulating and inspiring. We recently drove through the beautiful Elan valley to Aberystwyth, a lovely university town on the west coast of Wales, and I found that I was looking very closely at the countryside as we drove along. I was seeing it with new eyes, how it might be painted or drawn. David Hockney had, through the medium of this book, altered my vision.

What a gift!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fantastic catalogue of Hockney's Yorkshire landscape paintings (and other recent works) in the Royal Academy of Arts exhibit "A Bigger Picture." The catalogue includes interesting articles about Hockney and how these recent paintings of his childhood landscape represent a culmination of his career. I particularly enjoyed the article by Margaret Drabble: "The Spirit of Place: A Certain Road to Happiness." But the catalogue itself, consisting of every painting in the exhibit in large format and glorious color, is simply explodes with joy. I love them all, but was particularly taken by his I-Pad paintings of Yosemite.

[Cherie Harrap · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasured memento of one of the best, most breathtaking solo art exhibitions I've seen.

[Andrew H · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this book fell between two stools-- Hockney the man and his paintings. The text was interesting, but not revelatory. It felt too much like a celebratory expose: here is the great artist in his raincoat with his brushes, painting a picture. The pictures had more impact, yet they seemed almost mundane at times-- here is the real view, here is the picture. A Bigger Picture strangely, given its subject, felt like Hockney seen from a smaller canvas.

[Suzan Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Color reproductions well done.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is to be celebrated about this book is the simple commitment to celebrate the landscapes that have entered one's bones through thoughtful new work; work at once both placid and childlike in a repeated impressionism capturing the seasons as works quickly unfold to slowly build a volume of testaments. This book consists of a number of essays, illustrated with figures, followed by pages of color prints; with occasional explanatory notes by the author, ending with a biographical timeline.

The long lead-in essay gets things started very well, fully documenting the artist's progressive engagement with landscape and how visiting a sick friend led him to reengage his childhood home visually as he was making a move away from photographic views and into larger works that could only be understood with motion across the view. Margaret Drabble's essay, rendered in sharp contrasts with other artists, about the spirit of reengaging home in new ways gives the book a very positive emotional emphasis. Other essays then explain David Hockney's engagement with the old masters and other work.

Every season is shown beautifully, with the colors of spring, summer, and fall played against the soft purples and whites of the winter light illuminating the complexity of leafless trees. What cannot be rendered in the text of a review is the pleasure of looking out the window to the sunrise in a setting that lets depth and vegetation be appreciated, but these are views that seeing some of these paintings will let us see in a better way, picturing the largeness of the outdoors.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essays are notably lacking the voice of the artist himself. I had recently read several of Hockney's earlier books and memoirs. I was hoping to read more about his recent evolution and discoveries as an artist and a man.

However, I did enjoy the final essay about how artists use tools in general, and how Hockney explores what technology can and cannot do.

I give the text a middling 3 out of 5 stars. But the generous use of color plates of artwork from his entire career (with a heavier weighting on recent work) is spectacular. The book is a visual treat.

The visual and textual indices are also useful, as are the bibliographic notes. I give the visual elements and indices a 5 for an overall average of 4 stars.

[Bworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five stars are obviously for the art more than the book itself. I bought it after seeing the exhibition "A Bigger Picture", which showed Hockney's recent landscape work - needless to say I loved it. The bold colours, the almost naive strokes, the iPad-generated pictures printed on canvas. If the pictures were really for sale and I could afford it I would buy one, but in the meantime, I will make do with the book.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A splendid catalogue and collection of essays. Having seen some of these paintings, the books does them justice. The paintings, photographs and IPAD sketches are flawlessly reproduced. There are a number of interesting essays. However, the book could have done with more of them as they give interesting perspectives on the work.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superficially superficial, wholly lovable, highly postmodern. This whole retrospective is on his recent distinctive work in the Yorkshire woods.

The words are less annoying than usual for coffee-table-badge books. Keep looking til you like it.

[Joanne Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

delicious

[Robert]

I expected too much. Still interesting insights of one of the best artists alive.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing to say! Uplifting art. Impossible to imprison an exhibition and a vision - especially one as inspiring as that of Hockney's - but not a bad effort

[Sharron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read about of the most innovative living artists of our time. The color plates are so lush and saturated and his unique ideas about the way we see and perceive held me captive.

[Ellie Book Worm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful work

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

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