82 Portraits and 1 Still Life | 
so-soMy experience of the first 70 pages of this 173 page book is a mix of being back in art history class and wandering around a gallery with a chatty, knowledgeable host, who gets a little gossip-y at times.
The portraits themselves make up the last 100 pages, but before that we get 55 pages of introspection and comparison on the artist's life and work, 1/?
82 portraits, 1 still life and which painting do I end up liking the most? 🤦🏼♂️
The ensemble! The shoes match the shirt, and the hair matches the pants. Well done, Hunter.
“'If the best ones are of my mother,' Hockney wrote, 'it is perhaps because I know her best.'“
Am I being sentimental when I see warmth, even if the portrait is mostly done in cool blues and purples? 💙💜
Okay, I kinda dig it, and it adds to the work, knowing the artist's motivation, though I'll say for the record, that I do think an individual photograph can be a work of art.
If you want the broad strokes of Hockney's life and some d his work, with all the art world vocabulary to go along with it, as well as some discussion of the collection featured in this book, then this one is for you. 3w
I don't know if anybody's done a biography of Hockney, but similarly, I'd assume that would be more comprehensive than this is. 3w
Strange middle ground for me, but I'm not sure I've ever picked up an art book focused on a singular art project/collection/planned exhibition before.
I think if I do in future, I'll have to enter into it with a curiousity about the artist in question, because I did feel a 3w
⚠️There is discussion of the unexpected death of the artist's assistant in these pages, so be aware. 3w