Hockney: Printmaker

by Richard Lloyd

In 1954, a sixteen-year-old student at the Bradford College of Art opted to study lithography as part of the National Diploma in Design. His first effort, a small self-portrait printed only in a handful of impressions, marks the beginning of one of the longest and most diverse careers in modern printmaking. By turns traditional and groundbreaking, over six decades David Hockney has created graphic works of great wit, beauty and intellectual complexity.

Hockney, Printmaker features over 150 works, from etchings executed at the Royal College of Art in the 1960s, to experiments with printed computer drawings some fifty years later, via portraits, pools, poetry, Xeroxes and investigations into multi-point perspective. Written by Richard Lloyd, head of prints at Christies, with contributions from Hockney's friends and associates, it explores the many achievements of Britain's greatest living practitioner of the graphic arts.

The Hockney, Printmaker exhibition will be held at Dulwich Picture Gallery, London from 5th February -11th May, 2014.

Richard Lloyd is Christies' International Head of Prints.

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2014

About the author

Richard Lloyd is a writer and researcher with a focus on Italian art and architecture.

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers both the career of David Hockney, and the mediums that he worked with. I noted down some key elements which I will definitely consider using in my own work. I particularly liked his red, black and white etchings, his various water studies, his portraits, and his own works on Cubism, which is a genre that also fascinates me. I loved the thought behind his photocollages - in a nutshell, a photo captures a fixed moment, whereas a photocollage can capture time and space. Just wonderful! This book has some wonderful coloured plates to browse through. A favourite piece of mine has to be the coloured lithograph 'Woman with a Sewing machine', 1954. I love the composition, texture and colours and will be hunting down a postcard for this! This is a great reference book which has the power to hugely inspire and take you down many avenues of exploration, whether in subject matter or medium.