David Hockney OM CH RA (born 1937) is a British painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer. He is one of the most notable and well respected names in international art. Born in Bradford, Hockney attended the Bradford College of Art, and later the Royal College of Art in London.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1964, having been enthralled by the bright sunshine and easygoing lifestyle when he visited Southern California for the first time the previous year. Hockney is best known for his colourful windows into an idealised version of his LA lifestyle; putting his personal relationships, home environment and his homosexuality centre-stage in works such as his paintings of swimming pools, portraits of friends, and verdant landscapes. He had his first one-man show at Kasmin Limited in 1963, seven years later the Whitechapel Gallery in London organised the first major retrospective which subsequently travelled to three major European institutions.
In 2017 David Hockney was presented at the Tate Britain. The exhibition marked Hockney’s 80th year and traveled to the Centre Georges Pompidou and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hockney’s work is held in major public collections all over the world, including those of the Tate and the National Portrait Gallery in London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA in New York; and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Most recently, his monumental stained glass window to celebrate the Queen’s reign was unveiled in Westminster Abbey.