

This devastated Hockney and he turned to Valium due to his depression and the loneliness he felt after this loss. For example: Hockney’s first true romance, with a man called Peter Schlesinger, ended because Schlesinger felt that Hockney placed his work above everything else and felt as though he himself were only an erotic object to be shown off to others. It is ironic that this commitment to his artwork and its meaningful subject matter has caused a lot of personal suffering for Hockney, being both the making a breaking of his romances. Hockney uses his art to express the love he feels for others which obviously makes his work very personal and this shows in work. The RCA recognised his talent and growing reputation so it changed its regulations and Hockney was awarded the diploma.īecause Hockney strived for meaningful subject matters his personal life and his lovers are then often on display to the public by using many various types of technology and media Hockney has made his work accessible to people all over. Hockney thought that he should be assessed on his artwork alone and in retaliation he drew the sketch The Diploma to protest being told he could not graduate. In 1962 Hockney refused to write an essay that the RCA required for the final examination and due to his refusal he could not graduate. Hockney had been aware of his attraction to men whilst he was growing up, but it wasn’t until he befriended other gay men at the RCA that he felt comfortable talking about his sexual orientation. He began doing this whilst attending the Royal College of Art (henceforth referred to as “the RCA”), where he felt very at home and took pride in the work he was creating there.

Hockney is openly gay and he began incorporating his sexuality into his work, writing words such as “queer” and “unorthodox lover” in some of his paintings. Hockney strived for meaningful subject matters, which meant his work is often very personal and holds a lot of meaning.

His contributions to the pop art movement in the 1960’s were seen as important and he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20 th century. This English artist has a wide range of expertise, such has painting, drafting, printmaking, stage design, and photography. David Hockney was born 9th July 1937 in Bradford, England.
