Drawn back from past for art of today
‘Yorkshire’s Rembrandt’ Hockney returns to subjects first painted half century ago in Swinging Sixties
TAKING INSPIRATION from his lifelong muse and drawing influence from a favourite old master, Yorkshire’s Rembrandt unveiled new portraits that will sit alongside some of his oldest.
David Hockney had used the signature walnut-brown of the Dutch draughtsman he most admired to create the new works of some of his oldest and closest friends. They will form part of David Hockney: Drawing from Life, which will open at the National Portrait Gallery in London tomorrow.
It is the first major exhibition in 20 years devoted to his draughtsmanship, and will explore his technical skills from
Textile designer Celia Birtwell who famously posed for Hockney 50 years ago. his art college days in 1950s Bradford, to the present day.
The 10 new, three-quarter length ink portraits are of three of his long-time subjects – the textile designer Celia Birtwell, curator Gregory Evans, and master printer Maurice Payne – and are informed by their previous sittings, which in Ms Birtwell’s case date back 50 years.
Their Rembrandt-esque styling contrasts sharply with one of the exhibition’s other highlights – Hockney’s working drawings for A Rake’s Progress, his suite of etchings produced between 1961-63 after his first sampling of New York’s high life, and inspired by the identically named series of 18th century prints by William Hogarth.
Ms Birtwell, who was most famously portrayed by Hockney with her former husband, the fashion designer Ossie Clark, said it was “a great honour” to have been drawn by him again.
“In my opinion he is the best draughtsman we have working now,” she said. Hockney drew her this time in France, where, she said, he wanted to show off his new house and studio. “We went over to see him in September, when he drew me several times. We were so impressed that we returned in November,” she said.
Evans, who is Hockney’s longtime friend and former romantic partner, sat for him in Los Angeles last June, while the new portraits of Payne, his friend since the late 1960s, were drawn two months ago.
Dr Nicholas Cullinan, director of the National Portrait Gallery, said that by focusing on Hockney “as a supreme draughtsman, first and foremost”, it was possible to chart not only the passage of time on his subjects but also the development of his style over the last six decades.
The exhibition will also feature a portrait Hockney began to create of himself with his mother and father in Bradford in 1975 but which he subsequently abandoned.
In my opinion he is the best draughtsman we have working now,
From: Angela Rippon CBE, Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador.
ACROSS Yorkshire, over 76,000 people are living with dementia and 850,000 are affected UKwide. Dementia is now the UK’s biggest killer, with someone developing it every three minutes and too many face the condition alone.
The Alzheimer’s Society has joined up with Department for Transport on their ‘it’s everyone’s journey’ campaign to address the fact that too many disabled people, including people with dementia, don’t feel confident using public transport.
Transport can be a lifeline in helping people retain their independence to go shopping, collect their prescriptions, go to a hospital or doctors’ appointment or visit friends and family. We want a society where people think and act differently about dementia.
So we are calling on the travelling public to help beat the isolation and loneliness faced by people affected by learning more about some simple steps to support people with disabilities to travel:
■ Please be patient and take your time – support people living with dementia and other conditions by allowing people some extra time, should they require it. This could be using ticket barriers, finding a seat or getting onto a bus.
■ Please be considerate and aware of your fellow passengers – by offering help if someone looks lost or keeping the noise down if anyone looks visibly distressed to help reduce people’s anxieties.
■ Please be prepared to give up the priority seat – dementia is one of many disabilities which is not visible, so please be aware of other passengers and be prepared to give up the priority seat to anyone who might need it.
■ Please respect accessible toilet users – an accessible (disabled) toilet is not just a facility for wheelchair users. Please respect the fact that not all disabilities are visible and you may not always be aware of someone’s accessibility needs.
Every person in Yorkshire and the Humber can join this movement by becoming a Dementia Friend which allows you to learn more about what it’s like to live with dementia, and then turn that understanding into action. In England and Wales there are already over 3.25 million Dementia Friends taking action to make a difference – but we need to do more. We owe it to the 850,000 people living with dementia to understand the condition better, so that they can live better.
Become a Dementia Friend to learn more dementiafriends.org. uk and find out more about the campaign at everyonesjourney. campaign.gov.uk.