---
# System prepended metadata

title: Addicted to David Hoockney? Us Too. 6 Reasons We Just Can't

---

# Addicted to David Hoockney? Us Too. 6 Reasons We Just Can't 
<p><img src="https://www.speakeasy-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/SN_hockney01_int-1200x786.jpg" width="950" height="622" /></p>
<p>David Hockney is widely recognized as one of the most influential painters of the twentieth century. Hockney is regarded as a significant character in British art history, as well as a key role in the Pop Art Movement. Here are some fascinating facts about this multi-talented artist's life and accomplishments.</p>
<h2>He showed an interest in art from younger days</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.hockney.com/home">David Hockney</a> was the fourth of five children born to Laura and Kenneth Hockney on July 9, 1937. He had an early interest in art and was a fan of Picasso, Matisse, and Fragonard. Hockney attended Wellington Primary School until 1948, when he was awarded a scholarship to Bradford Grammar School. He studied art at Bradford College of Art from 1953 to 1957.</p>
<h2>David Hockney was a conscientious objector</h2>
<p>Hockney was a conscientious objector, or someone who claimed the right to refuse to serve in the military. So, beginning in 1957, he worked in hospitals for two years to satisfy his national service obligation. It's worth noting that David's father, Kenneth Hockney, was also a conscientious objector during World War II.</p>
<h3>When the RCA refused to award the diploma to David Hockney, he went ahead and drew a satirical sketch, which is quite popular nowadays.</h3>
<p><img src="https://en.artsdot.com/ADC/Art.nsf/O/AE3MG7/$File/David_Hockney-Late_spring_tunnel.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="462" /></p>
<p>Hockney enrolled in the Royal College of Art in London in 1959. He fared well in school but refused to write an essay in order to pass the final test, preferring to be assessed only on his artwork. Instead, he produced 50 copies of a satirical skit titled The Diploma. Museums such as the Tate and the V&amp;A now have some of the replicas. The RCA altered its criteria and handed him the diploma after recognizing his skill and rising renown.</p>
<h3>One of the most famous works in pop art is his painting a bigger splash</h3>
<p>From 1964 to 1968, Hockney resided in Los Angeles. He painted his renowned series of paintings of Los Angeles swimming pools here. The most well-known of these is A Bigger Splash, which displays a splash in a pool against a contemporary home. This enormous painting is one of the most recognizable works of <a href="https://shaperomodern.com/gallery/pop-art">Pop Art</a>, and Hockney is regarded as a key figure in the style.</p>
<h3>David Hockney was a talented photographer, and he created a series of famous photo collages</h3>
<p><img src="https://www.artranked.com/images/d6/d60408bda4400b8818be4842c31a9c92.jpeg" alt="" width="800" height="674" /></p>
<p>Hockney used a series of images for his personal reference while working on a painting of a Los Angeles living room and stitched them together to generate an image from which he could construct his painting. However, he discovered that grouping was an art form in and of itself, so he began to create more. One of the reasons for his success was his picture collages, which he referred to as 'joiners.' Hockney returned to painting in the late 1980s, despite his photographic success.</p>
<h3>David Hockney is not afraid of using technology in his art</h3>
<p>Since the 1980s, Hockney has been using technology into his art. On a photocopier, he produced his first handmade prints in 1986. He began utilizing fax machines and laser printers in the 1990s. Hockney has used the Brushes program on iPhones and iPads to paint hundreds of portraits, still lives, and landscapes since 2009, and he often distributes them to his pals.</p>
<h2>David Hockney hid his sexual orientation in the paintings</h2>
<p>Hockney has made no effort to hide his sexual orientation. He is well-known for having had male relationships. In his paintings, he has investigated the nature of homosexual love. His 1961 artwork We Two Boys Together Clinging, which is based on a Walt Whitman poem, expresses his admiration for males. Domestic Scene, Los Angeles is one of his most well-known paintings, and it explores homosexuality.</p>
<h2>David Hockney forwarded the Hockney-Falco thesis in art with Charles Falco</h2>
<p><img src="https://tandgbuilding.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/David-Hockney-20161109-DSC_0791-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="467" /></p>
<p>The Hockney&ndash;Falco thesis was proposed by David Hockney and Charles M. Falco. It contends that gains in realistic and precise portrayal in Western art since the Renaissance have been largely due to optical aids such as the camera obscura, camera lucida, and curved mirrors, stating that accuracy in the works can't be achieved by "eyeballing it." This theory is the basis for David Hockney's 2001 book Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters. It has sparked a firestorm of controversy among artists, art historians, and academics.</p>
<h2>David Hockney is a versatile artist</h2>
<p><a href="https://shaperomodern.com/david-hockney-the-blue-guitar-the-blue-guitar-portfolio-1977">Hockney</a> is regarded as a multi-talented artist. Portraiture, still lives, landscapes, pop art, expressionist art, and cubism have all made him famous. He has also shown his ability in other areas. He has authored multiple books and scripts, worked as a set and costume stage designer, and made countless television and film appearances, in addition to being a well-known photographer.</p>
<h2>David Hockney is identified as one of the most influential artists of Britain all time</h2>
<p>Hockney's painting Beverly Hills Housewife, which was sold for about $8 million in 2009, is still a record for his work. In 1985, he received the Infinity Award for photography, and in 1988, he received the coveted Royal Photographic Society's Progress medal. Hockney was awarded a knighthood in 1990, but he rejected. He received the Order of Merit in January 2012. Hockney was chosen the most influential British artist of all time in a survey of more than 1,000 British artists in 2011.</p>
<h2>Final words</h2>
<p>David Hockney's 60-year career has seen him generate an immense oeuvre spanning the genres of painting, etching, photography, and beyond, earning him the title of one of Britain's most respected living artists. Last year's retrospective at Tate Britain was the museum's most popular show ever, and his painting "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" is expected to sell for $80 million at a Christie's auction in November. If it happens, it will break Jeff Koons' record for a work by a living artist sold at auction.</p>