David Hockney: Normandy Portraits

This concise volume illustrates around 40 acrylic on canvas works painted by David Hockney (born 1937) at his Normandy studio―depicting his friends and visitors, as well as the artist himself. David Hockney: Normandy Portraits showcases a series of some previously unseen portraits, across 48 pages, uninterrupted by text, to allow readers to engage directly with the artworks. These new works highlight the ongoing importance of portraiture within the artist’s practice and demonstrate his sentiment that "drawings and paintings … are a lot better than photographs to give you a sense of the person."

Hockney returned to painting after an intensive period spent depicting the Normandy landscape using an iPad. The portraits were painted quickly and directly onto the canvas without underdrawing. As Hockney has said, "to do a portrait slowly is a bit of a contradiction." David Hockney (born 1937) is one of the most significant British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. He attended the Royal College of Art in London and exhibited in one of the first British Pop art shows. In 1964 he moved to Los Angeles, where he lived for many years before returning to his native Yorkshire for a time. In addition to painting, Hockney has pursued photography, collage and printmaking, as well as digital illustration. He lives and works in Normandy, France.