Hockney's Pictures: The Definitive Retrospective [Hardcover]

Gregory Evans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2004

The story of David Hockney, one of the most widely acclaimed of all living artists, is one of passion: passion for seeing, passion for telling, passion for images. But to these should be added the passion for life. Hockney's art is a celebration of what it is to be alive. All of his pictures-sometimes tender, as when he draws close friends and family; sometimes playful, as in his paintings of lazy, carefree days at the pool; sometimes awe-inspiring, as with his monumental images of the Grand Canyon-convey what it means to be in the world, to see it, to move in it, to love it. This constant exploration of how to communicate such feelings through his work emerges with particular clarity in this stunning, lively volume, which charts almost fifty years of extraordinary creativity. Hockney's Pictures is the first definitive "retrospective" to show the evolution and diversity of Hockney's prolific paintings, drawings, watercolors, prints, and photography, including new and published works. The pieces, presented thematically, are selected and organized by David Hockney himself, and track Hockney's lifelong experiments in ways of looking and depicting. With 325 illustrations, accompanied by extensive quotes from the artist himself that illuminate the passionate thinking behind the work, Hockney's Pictures is destined to become a classic. David Hockney is Britain's most celebrated living artist and one of the most popular artists working today. His pieces are in the permanent collections of major museums internationally, and his book Secret Knowledge was one of the bestselling art books of 2001.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a book with so few words, this quote from Hockney rings out clearly: "I have always believed that art should be a deep pleasure." And it is indeed pleasure that radiates from every page of this retrospective of the British-born artist's career. Starting with his student work of the early 1960s, Hockney has depicted quiet domestic pleasures, the faces of friends and the monuments of foreign countries with an unwavering joy in looking and seeing, even as he has employed a restless array of mediums, including oil, photo-collage, pressed paper pulp and quick, intimate watercolors. The accessibility of Hockney's art has earned him both popular success and jeers from some quarters of the art world that tend to favor "edginess" over happiness. This collection, which is compiled by the artist himself and includes his conversational commentary in the margins, not only gloriously documents Hockney's career, but also provides a riposte to those who see him as a shallow technician of pretty surfaces. The book is divided into sections that showcase Hockney's brainy engagement with the classic problems of modern art ("Problems of Depiction: Movement," "Space and Light"). The case for Hockney's seriousness may have come at the expense of his playful, mischievous side, however. There would have been more than enough material for an amusing section on the male rear end, for example, which has been as much of a Hockney theme as his famous preoccupation with water. But the book's theory-heavy arrangement is unobtrusive. There is only the briefest of introductory text, and captions are confined to titles and dates (full information on each picture is tucked away in an index). The art is allowed to speak for itself and the result is, once again, pure pleasure.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

David Hockney is Britain's most celebrated living artist and one of the most popular artists working today. His work is in the permanent collections of major museums internationally, and his book The Secret Knowledge was one of the best-selling art books of 2001.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch; 1St Edition edition (November 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821228730
• ISBN-13: 978-0821228739
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #207,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars David Hockney as Curator, July 21, 2006

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hockney's Pictures: The Definitive Retrospective (Hardcover)

"The Definitive Retrospective" sounds a bit unctuous and presumptuous for a book of selected paintings from an artist's enormous output, but when the artist himself makes the title, we pay attention. This is a splendid picture book with minimal writing and conversation put together by Hockney and Gregory Evans, a book that surveys almost every aspect of this prodigious artist's career. To a point. The book was published in 2004 and Hockney is still painting daily!

As those who are having the complete pleasure of attending the current touring exhibition 'DAVIS HOCKNEY PORTRAITS' currently in Los Angeles, the absence of his 2005 massive output of studio visitor portraits and some of his most current large portraits are missing from this 'definitive retrospective'. But more is the joy, knowing that Hockney continues to invent and pursue ideas and venues that challenge him and result in some of the most exciting work he has made.

But for the reader of this excellent volume there is indeed much to love. Hockney sprinkles the margins of the book with little bits of observation, philosophy and humor. The strong point of the book is the plethora of images very well reproduced on excellent paper. It would be testy to say this is the finest of the many Hockney books available, but at least this one is the painter's stance on the definitive aspect of his career in painting. Welcome to the joy of David Hockney (and buy the Portraits catalogue to embellish this volume!). Highly recommended. Grady Harp, July 06

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hockney's art through Hockney's eyes, August 27, 2007

By 

Claude Reich (Florianopolis, Brazil and Paris, France) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hockney's Pictures: The Definitive Retrospective (Hardcover)

This book is a very complete compendium of David Hockney's output up to 2004. Its main asset is the quality of the illustrations, some of which are accompanied by a short commentary by the artist. Divided into four chapters ( chapter 1, entitled "problems of depiction", deals with the artist's various series on theater stages, water, movement, how to adapt to a moving viewpoint, the problem of styles, etc; chapter 2 entitled "life stilled", dwells on home, life, still life, love; chapter 3 tackles portraits; chapter 4 studies space and light) it has very little text and leaves it to the reader, or rather, to the spectator to interpret all the works (which, in my opinion, is not a bad idea for an art book).

Probably the best available on this major artist.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full to the brim with images, January 17, 2008

By 

Benjamin (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Hockney's Pictures: The Definitive Retrospective (Hardcover)

With minimum text, the introduction takes just one page, and the introduction to each of its four sections barley half a page each, `Hockney's Pictures' is aptly titled. The introduction explains the aim of each section: `Problems of Depiction', `Life Stilled', `Portraits' and `Space and Light', and then allows the pictures to provide the answers along with the occasional brief and down to earth comment from Hockney himself alongside the relevant picture.

This is a carefully designed volume; the almost square format comfortably accommodates both landscape and portrait proportions, the images are presented imaginatively on the page with a varied layout which manages to avoid being confusing. Many of the images are full page with some presented as full page bleed and some occasionally crossing the gutter. Each picture is given its title and date; the additional details of size and medium are to be found in a separate list at the back of the book. The book describes itself as having "325 illustrations, 277 in colour"; however this is slightly unfair for as far as I can tell the 48 black and white images comprise pencil or charcoal drawings, etchings and the like which in themselves are monochrome.

This is what an art book should be, full to the brim with images which, along with occasional comment from the artist, are allowed to speak for themselves.