DH Chronology

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David Hockney

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Chronology

Note on the use of this chronology.
The notion of an artist / author is usually employed to unify a variety of works and to provide a source of meaning for those works. A case can be made for breaking this unifying bond, for allowing the distinct voices of different works to be heard without imposing on them a unity which disguises their crucial differences. Indeed, the traditional use of the 'author' is mistaken both because it usually depends on an unanalytical concept of the subject, and also because it necessarily operates with a partial analysis of the author. In the first chapter of 'Critical Introductions to Art: David Hockney', Simon Faulkner outlines how - and why - the author David Hockney has been constructed.

1937 Born in Bradford, Yorkshire.

1953-59 Studied at the Bradford School of Art. Spends two years working in hospitals to fulfil National Service obligation.

1959-62 Studied at the Royal College of Art, London. Graduates with a first class Diploma and, in recognition of his outstanding work, the Gold Medal. Comes to the attention of the public as a Pop artist. Takes a flat in Notting Hill, which will be his London base for some twenty-five years.

1963 Travels to Egypt at the invitation of the 'Sunday Times'. First solo-exhibition, at the Kasmin Gallery, London. Meets Andy Warhol and Henry Geldzahler in New York.

1964 First trip to Los Angeles, which becomes his main residence until 1968. Begins working with acrylic paints. First solo-exhibition in New York. Teaches at various American universities until 1967.

1966 Five solo-exhibitions in Europe. Designs Royal Court Theatre production of Alfred Jarry's 'Ubu Roi'. Publishes the portfolio of etchings 'Illustrations for Fourteen Poems from C. P. Cavafy'.

1967 Paints 'A Bigger Splash'.

1968 Begins painting large double portraits. Increased use of photographs as studies for paintings.

1969 Completes the suite of etchings 'Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm'.

1970 Seven solo-exhibitions including a major retrospective at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London. Begins works on 'Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy' which he finishes the following year.

1971 Begins to be filmed periodically by Jack Hazan for the film 'A Bigger Splash', premiered in 1974.

1973-75 Lives in Paris where he concentrates on drawing and printmaking. A major solo exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, opens in 1974. Designs 'The Rake's Progress' for Glyndebourne.

1976-77 Produces a series of large-scale lithographs in Los Angeles. Publishes the first part of his autobiography. Reads Wallace Stevens's poem 'The Man with the Blue Guitar' and makes drawings, paintings and a portfolio of etchings on the theme.

1978 Designs 'The Magic Flute' for Glyndebourne. Produces 'Paper Pools', a series using coloured paper pulp. Decides to settle in Los Angeles. 'Travels with Pen, Pencil and Ink', a large exhibition of his prints and drawings, begins its tour of North America and is shown in London, 1980.

1979 Retrospective exhibition of Hockney's prints organised by the Midland Group Gallery.

1980-81 Designs the Metropolitan Opera's 'Parade', a triple bill composed of music by Satie, Poulenc and Ravel. Designs the Metropolitan's production of a Stravinsky triple bill the following season.

1982 In February he produces his first photo-collages, exhibited in New York, May, under the title 'Drawing with a Camera'.

1983 'Hockney Paints the Stage', a major exhibition, is shown in North America, Mexico and London, where it closes in 1985.

1984-85 Produces a large number of paintings and prints which show the influence of Chinese scrolls and his photo-collages. Elected a Royal Academician.

1986 'Home Made Prints' created using a photocopier. Produces his last photo-collage. Begins work on Los Angeles Music Center Opera production of Tristan und Isolde which he completes the following year.

1988 A major retrospective opens in Los Angeles and tours to New York and London. Begins making prints using a fax machine.

1990-92 Begins work on Chicago Lyric Opera production of Turandot and Royal Opera House production of Die Frau ohne Schatten: both are performed in 1992. Begins the series 'Some Very New Paintings'.

1993-95 Second volume of his autobiography published. Extended period of portrait drawing. In addition to producing a number of large 'abstracts' he paints still lifes and a series of small paintings featuring his two dogs. A major retrospective of his drawings opens at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, touring to The Royal Academy of Arts and Los Angeles County Museum of Art where it closes in 1996.

1996 '20 Photographs' shown at LA Louver Gallery, 11 May-8 June.