One of the best-known artists of the twentieth century, David Hockney is renowned for his prolific production, high level of technical skill, and extreme versatility. He has achieved renown in a wide variety of media including pen-and-ink drawing, painting, printmaking, and photography. Alongside the quality of his work, his round face and owlish glasses have made him one of the most recognizable artists working today.

Hockney was born on July 9, 1937 in the industrial town of Bradford, in Yorkshire, England, to a working-class but politically radical family. Although his father, Kenneth, ran an accounting business, he was also an antiwar activist who wrote letters of protest to world leaders. David was the fourth of five children. His mother, Laura, was a shop assistant and a strict vegetarian.

By the time he was 11, Hockney had already decided to become an artist. He studied at the local Bradford School of Art from 1953 to 1957, where he acquired an early reputation as a skilled draftsman. After fulfilling his National Service duties as a conscientious objector by working in a hospital for two years, Hockney enrolled at the London College of Art in 1959. He excelled there as well, both socially — his outgoing, gregarious personality won him a number of friends, most notably the painter R. B. Kitaj — and professionally — he discovered modernism, his work in the Young Contemporaries show in 1961 led critics to dub him one of the rising stars of the pop movement, and he won the College’s Gold Medal in 1962. Academically he lagged, though, flunking out twice before the school finally allowed him to graduate.

Hockney’s early work was characterized by a sort of false amateurism (”faux-naif”), in which he mixed sophisticated, highly skilled technique with intentionally crude folk-art styles. He often scrawled lines of poetry or other text over his works that related to their meaning. His influences throughout this period included Jean Dubuffet and Pablo Picasso, and Hockney’s own homosexuality (for example, a series of paintings in 1960-61 titled We Two Boys Together Clinging takes its name from the Walt Whitman poem). His 1962 series Demonstrations of Versatility was a dazzling collection of paintings, each in a different style, that showcased Hockney’s skill and creativity.

Hockney was an avid lithographer as well; some of his best-known work from this period includes 1961’s Myself and My Heroes, in which he appears alongside Mahatma Gandhi and Walt Whitman, and his 1961-63 The Rake’s Progress, an updated version of a series of William Hogarth prints from 1732-33. In 1975, Hockney designed the sets for a production of the opera inspired by the prints at the Glyndenbourne Festival in Australia.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, upon graduation from art school Hockney had already established himself well enough professionally that he didn’t have to take a teaching position and could work full-time as an artist. In 1963 he moved to California. Settling in Santa Monica, he began working with acrylic paints instead of oils and adopted a more realistic style, winning acclaim for a series of rich, colorful paintings of swimming pools. Hockney fell in love with California’s sunny weather, its cleanness and spare beauty, its social freedom, and the beauty of its inhabitants. Many of his works during this period were “snapshots” of men in casual poses, engaged in activities such as swimming; Neil Simon’s 1978 film California Suite used a number of them in its opening credits. During this period Hockney also painted several critically acclaimed portraits of his friends; one of these, Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy, is considered by authorities at the Tate Museum to be the most popular painting in the museum’s collection.

In 1966 he met native Californian Peter Schlesinger, who became his romantic partner and frequently modeled for him. The two moved back to London together, but broke up in 1970. In 1973 Hockney moved to Paris briefly, where he spent part of his sojourn living in an apartment in the Quartier Latin formerly owned by the painter Balthus. While in Paris he produced a series of etchings in memory of his idol Picasso, who had died that year, and produced a 1974 exhibition at the Musée des Artes Decoratifs with the help of two of Picasso’s master printers, Aldo and Piero Crommelynck.

Throughout this period Hockney continued to explore other media besides painting, most notably photography. From 1982-86, he created some of his best-known and most iconographic work — his “joiners,” large composite landscapes and portraits made up of hundreds or thousands of individual photographs. Hockney initially used a Polaroid camera for the photos, switching to a 35 mm camera as the works grew larger and more complex. In interviews, Hockney related the “joiners” to cubism, pointing out that they incorporate elements that a traditional photograph does not possess — namely time, space, and narrative.

Always willing to adopt new techniques, in 1986 Hockney began producing art with color photocopiers. He has also incorporated fax machines (faxing art to an exhibition in Brazil, for example) and computer-generated images (most notably Quantel Paintbox, a computer system often used to make graphics for television shows) into his work.

In 2001 Hockney set off controversy in the art world with his film Secret Knowledge, in which he advances a theory that many Old Masters (particularly Jeane-August-Dominique Ingres, but others as well) achieved the extreme realism of their works through the use of a “camera lucida” (a series of lenses and prisms), projecting an image of their model onto the canvas and then tracing around it. This theory has not drawn much support among art historians, however.

Hockney also has a long history in stage design, particularly for operas and the dramatic theater. He designed the set for the Royal Court Theatre’s production of Alfred Jarry’s play UBU ROI in 1966, and has done design work for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as well as operas in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Hockney currently divides his time between the Hollywood Hills and Malibu.

– Brian Kennedy

Brian Kennedy is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn.

Over the years, Maryte Kavaliauskas has co-produced films on numerous artists, including Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella and Joan Mitchell. Now, she’s turning her eye to another renowned artist with AMERICAN MASTERS David Hockney: The Colors of Music. Below, she answers some questions about the film.

Q: What makes David Hockney an American Master?

A: Susan Lacy, the creator and executive producer of the AMERICAN MASTERS series, has always included adopted Americans, as well as native-born Americans in the series. The list of these great masters who adopted America includes Charlie Chaplin, William Wyler, Robert Capa, Balanchine, Alfred Hitchcock, and Samuel Goldwyn. And now David Hockney joins this illustrious group. British-born, Hockney may well be the world’s most famous living artist, but as a young man he chose to adopt America because of his love of Southern California, with its sun-struck hedonism and emerging sexual freedoms. So persuasive was his embrace of Los Angeles that within a few years his paintings of lawn sprinklers, swimming pools and palm trees became part of everybody’s mental picture of the California landscape. His palette took on a Southern California luminosity that is evident not only in his paintings, but especially in his dazzling opera set designs. He is a giant among artists.

Q: What was the genesis of the film?

A: In 1991, we were working on a series of short films about printmaking at Tyler Graphics. David Hockney was one of the artists working there. At the same time, he was also working on three different opera productions: a revival of Parade in Paris, a new Turandot in Chicago and a planned Die Frau ohne Schatten in London. It seemed that he could only talk about these operas. When he showed us his stunning set designs, we were immediately amazed and intrigued by their originality, but it was his enthusiasm and passion for the operas themselves that convinced us to do a film. We not only had a charming and witty subject, but also extraordinary visuals and gorgeous music to enhance a film. We asked David if we could come and film him in his studio in Los Angeles. He said yes and we were on an airplane to Los Angeles in just a few days. That was the beginning.

Q: Filming took place in the early 1990s as Hockney was losing his hearing. Please explain the delay in releasing the film.

A: We started to film in 1991 in order to document the opera work that Hockney was doing while he was losing his hearing. We actually ran out of money before we could finish filming all the sequences we had in mind. It took us a good 10 years to get the post-production financing from ARTE [Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne] in Europe. Only then could we finish the film.

Q: What made Hockney’s opera sets so unique?

A: There are a few reasons. He spent up to a year designing each opera. He listened to the opera while he drove through some incredible landscapes, like the Grand Canyon. He listened to the music over and over before he even began to design. This process led to these incredibly intense set designs. Most opera set designers can’t afford to spend as much time on each opera.

Q: What did you learn about him that was most surprising?

A: Hockney has a child’s curiosity and enthusiasm that is always a delight to see. He is always looking at the world in a new way. He inspires everyone around him with his keen artistic intelligence.

Q: Do you have a favorite opera set?

A: My favorite opera of Hockney’s is Tristan and Isolde. The sets are monumental, much like sculpture with the enhancement of scale, perspective, lighting, and color.

Q: It appears as if Hockney is greatly inspired by his environment. How did you translate that into film?

A: We filmed Hockney driving through different landscapes and then inserted his paintings off and on. We did the same with a train ride, where you see landscapes out the window that then alternate with his paintings. You see the landscapes merging with his paintings. We used this as a leitmotiv throughout the film.

Q: How much has his hearing loss impacted his life and career?

A: Hockney’s hearing loss mostly affected his work in opera. When he could no longer hear the music well enough, he stopped creating opera sets. However, he continued to paint without restraint. He creates and lives a life full of passion.

From painting to photos to collage, lithographs and set design, it seems artist David Hockney has done it all. The AMERICAN MASTERS documentary David Hockney: The Colors of Music explores the painter’s set designs while the timeline below provides personal and career highlights.

1937
Born July 9 in Bradford, England.

1953-57
Studies at Bradford School of Art.

1959-62
Studies at Royal College of Art, London. Sees works of American abstract expressionists, including Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.

1960
Sees major Picasso exhibition at Tate Gallery, London. Reads complete works of Walt Whitman.

	A scene from AMERICAN MASTERS David Hockney: The Colors of Music

1960-61
Executes Doll Boy and other love paintings.

1961
First visit to the United States.

1961-62
Makes series of etchings, A Rake’s Progress.

1963
Executes first shower paintings. First solo exhibition held at John Kasmin, London. Travels to Egypt. First visit to Los Angeles.

1964
Moves to Los Angeles. Makes first swimming pool paintings. Begins making instant (Polaroid) photographs. Begins working with acrylic paints. Teaches at the University of Iowa, Iowa City.

1965
Teaches at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

1966
Designs sets and costumes for Alfred Jarry’s production of Ubu Roi at the Royal Court Theater, London.

1966-67
Teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles.

1967
Teaches at University of California, Berkeley.

1968
Creates first large double portraits. Moves to London.

1969
Makes series of etchings of six fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm.

1970
Traveling retrospective at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London. Creates first photographic “joiners.”

1971
Travels to Japan. Film David Hockney’s Diaries made by Michael and Christian Blackwood.

1973-75
Lives in Paris.

1974
Solo exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris. Designs sets for the ballet Septentrion.

1975
Designs Glyndebourne Festival Opera production sets and costumes for The Rake’s Progress.

1976
Returns to Los Angeles. Begins working extensively with photography; makes large scale lithographs.

1976-77
Reads The Man with the Blue Guitar, by Wallace Stevens and makes a suite of 20 etchings to illustrate this theme.

1977-78
Designs Glyndebourne Festival Opera production sets and costumes for The Magic Flute.

1978
Makes Los Angeles his permanent residence. Creates lithographs and series Paper Pools, made with handmade paper pulp at Tyler Graphics in Bedford Village, New York.

1980-81
Designs Metropolitan Opera “triple bill,” sets and costumes for Parade, Les Mamelles de Tiresias, l’Enfant et les Sortileges.

1981
Travels to China with Sir Stephen Spender and Gregory Evans. Designs Metropolitan Opera sets and costumes for Le Sacre du Printemps, Le Rossignol, Oedipus Rex, and Paid on Both Sides.

1982-84
Makes first composite Polaroids and photographic collages.

1983
Begins to study Chinese scrolls and reads George Rowley’s Principals of Chinese Painting designs sets for the ballet, Varii Capricci.

1984-85
Makes “Moving Focus” multi-colored lithographs at Tyler Graphics in Bedford Village, New York.

1985
Designs cover and 40 pages for the December 1985 issue of French Vogue magazine.

1986
First home-made prints created on photocopiers. Designs and publishes a catalogue of home made prints to accompany his gallery exhibitions. Completes Pearblossom Hwy., 11-14th April 1986 photocollage, which is the culmination of his experiments with photography.

1986-87
Designs the Los Angeles Music Center Opera’s production of Tristan und Isolde. Designs catalogue to accompany drawing exhibition at Loyola Marymount University, L.A.

1987-88
Writes, directs and is featured in the film A Day on the Grand Canal with the Emperor of China (or Surface is Illusion But So is Depth), produced by Philip Haas.

1988
Creates 24 original pages for his book, David Hockney: A Retrospective. Creates original prints for local, national, and international publications in connection with his major retrospective.

1988-89
Returns to painting, concentrating on seascapes, potted flowers, and portraits of his family and friends.

1989-90
Makes drawings and transmits them through his laser fax machines. Makes multi-page fax pictures (up to 144 pages) utilizing his black and white laser office copy machine.

1990
Works at Tyler Graphics Ltd. on six new prints. Makes color laser printed photographs from his vacation snaps of Alaska and England. Begins a series of oil paintings of the Santa Monica mountains. Experiments with a still video camera taking full length portrait pictures of friends and family. Designs sets and costumes of Puccini’s Turandot with Ian Falconer, for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Francisco Opera.

1991
Makes paintings using ideas from Turandot and Die Frau Ohne Schatten, and computer drawings on his Mac II FX computer. In the fall, begins designing sets and costumes with Ian Falconer for the Richard Strauss Die Frau Ohne Schatten.

1992
In January, opens Turandot and a painting exhibition in Chicago. Finishes designs for Die Rrau Ohne Schatten and travels to London in the spring to supervise construction of the stage sets. Continues with new paintings in his Malibu studio. Opens Die Frau Ohne Schatten in London in November.

1993
Travels to Barcelona for a retrospective of his work at the Palau de la Virreina. Opens a painting exhibition in New York of his “Very New Paintings.” Creates 12 prints with Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles. Continues research with color laser printed photographs from color slide pictures of travels to Japan, Scotland and England. Stages his two opera productions in fall 1993, for San Francisco and Los Angeles. Begins portrait and dog drawings in December.

1994
Creates gouache drawings and collages. Editions four images of his color laser printed photographs. Designs costumes and scenery for 12 opera arias for the television broadcast of Placido Domingo’s Operalia 1994 in Mexico City.

1995
Begins portrait paintings of his dogs, Stanley and Boodgie. Paints large abstracts to exhibit in Los Angeles. Paints BMW art car for the BMW art car collection. Exhibits paintings and drawings at the 1995 Venice Biennale, Italy. Opens his traveling Drawing Retrospective in Hamburg, Germany. Paints still lifes and makes digital inkjet prints from photographs of paintings. Paints museum walls in Munich for a group exhibition on the subject of the “Pierrot” figure. Opens painting exhibition of still lifes and dog paintings at Rotterdam Museum and attends his Drawing Retrospective opening at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Makes five etchings with aquatint with printer, Maurice Payne.

1996
Paints portraits of family and friends in January. Opens his Drawing Retrospective at the L.A. County Museum of Art. Creates Snails Space with Vari-lites, “Painting as Performance,” at his Santa Monica Boulevard studio and exhibits this with other paintings in two New York galleries in May. Begins flower paintings. Travels to Melbourne to stage his opera production of Die Frau Ohne Schatten. Begins portraits in L.A. and continues painting portraits in England.

1997
Restages his opera production of Tristan und Isolde at the Los Angeles Music Center Opera. Continues new portrait paintings, and opens exhibition of flower paintings and portrait paintings in London in the spring. Visits the southwest on two separate occasions during the summer. Celebrates his 60th birthday in Los Angeles. Travels to London at the end of July to receive Order of the Companion of Honour award from Her Majesty, the Queen of England. Makes new oil paintings of the Yorkshire landscape. Opens his photography exhibition at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne in December.

1998
Paintings and drawings of Stanley and Boodgie are published in a new book called David Hockney’s Dog Days, in Europe and the USA. Begins new suite of etchings with Maurice Payne in Los Angeles. Continues large landscape paintings. Exhibits some of them at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in April. Paints A Bigger Grand Canyon, oil on 60 canvases, with an overall size of 81.5 x 293 in. and exhibits it at the National Museum of American Art, in Washington D.C. in June. Exhibits landscape paintings, drawings and photocollages at L.A. Louver in Venice, California. Paints A Closer Grand Canyon and makes other detail studies of the Grand Canyon in oil and in crayon.

1999
Opens three exhibitions in Paris. Exhibits 1998 etchings at Pace Prints in New York. Installs nine Grand Canyon paintings at the Royal Academy of Arts, London for the Summer Exhibition. Travels to London and begins portrait drawings using a camera lucida. Exhibits some of the drawings in London, in June. Begins research and correspondence with art historians and friends concerning the use of mechanical devices by Ingres and other artists. Publishes an article in the RA magazine concerning his findings. Returns to Los Angeles and continues his drawings with the camera lucida, and his research. Participates in the Ingres and Portraiture International symposium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Gives a talk about his research to the art history department at Columbia University, New York.

2000
Begins writing a book about his research and theories on old masters use of mechanical devices. In London, begins paintings of his garden and continues work on his book.

2001
Completes his book, Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters. Gives lectures about his discoveries at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and the L.A. County Museum of Art. In the summer, travels to England, Germany, Italy and Belgium. Works on a documentary with the BBC about his research and theories. Opens his traveling photography retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Gives lecture for MOCA. Attends Die Frau Ohne Schatten rehearsals at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. His film, Secret Knowledge, is broadcast in England. Exhibits paintings and drawings of his garden in Paris. Participates in symposium at NYU Law School concerning his book and film theories.

2002
Has conversation with Lawrence Weschler about his book and film theories at the J. Paul Getty Museum auditorium in Los Angeles. Travels to New York to work on his opera production revival of Parade: A Triple Bill for the Metropolitan Opera. Begins working in watercolor. Travels to London and continues his watercolors. Sits for the painter, Lucian Freud, while in London. Assists Her Majesty the Queen of England in presenting the 2002 Visual Arts Award to a student at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in celebration of the Queen’s 50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee. Travels from London to the Norwegian fjords and to Iceland and creates watercolors and sketchbooks of his travels.

2003
Begins watercolors in Los Angeles. Visits Norway. Continues work in watercolor, in London and in L.A. Attends the Optics, Optical Instruments and Painting: the Hockney-Falco Thesis Revisited conference in Ghent, Belgium. Travels to Florence, Italy to receive an honorary degree at the Academy of Fine Arts and to receive the Lorenzo de Medici Lifetime Career Award at the Florence Biennale.

2004
Continues watercolors in London. Travels to Spain and France. Travels to Yorkshire to begin watercolors of the countryside. Exhibits watercolors at Richard Gray Gallery, New York in March. Exhibits portraits, garden and interior watercolors at the Whitney Biennial. Travels to Palermo, Sicily to receive the Rosa d’Oro award. Exhibits a selection of Spanish watercolors at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. Continues watercolors of Yorkshire.

2005
Resumes oil painting with portraits of friends in Los Angeles. Exhibits new Yorkshire watercolors at L.A. Louver Gallery, Venice, California.