David Hockney, one of the most influential British artists of modern times, died last month at the age of 88.  The New York Times obituary noted that  “although his art was conservative in an era that also gave rise to Conceptualism, he was progressive in at least one way: He was one of the first widely popular artists of his time to make work with undisguised gay content and one of the few to take a public stand against the censoring of homosexual imagery.”

We saw Hockney’s fantastic show at the Serpentine Gallery last March, a brightly colored depiction of the four seasons at his home in Normandy that wrapped around all four walls of the gallery.  The show was sold out for weeks!  It was gorgeous, portraying his house and the countryside in vivid colors and brilliant brushstrokes.

Hockney achieved notoriety in 2018 when his painting Portrait of an Artist (Pool with two Figures) sold at auction for $90.3 million, the highest priced sale in history at that time, and that event provides the material for the opening two panels in this terrific graphic biography.  Elliott manages to hit all the high points—Hockney’s many homosexual relationships and loves, his constant moving between Yorkshire New York City, Los Angeles, and London, his outrageous and daring adoption of new techniques, and most importantly, his beautiful work.

There is already a two volume biography of Hockney that runs, as most biographies do today, to nearly 1000 pages, and yet, my strong feeling is that I will remember much more about David Hockney having read Elliott’s graphic treatment than if I had read the 1000 pages of details about his life.

The panels are rendered in brilliant colors, mirroring Hockney’s art and are creative and attention grabbing.  If you have any interest in this giant of contemporary art, spend some time with Elliott’s book. I think you’ll enjoy it while learning.