The National Portrait Gallery in London, will stage the first major exhibition devoted to David Hockney’s drawings in over twenty years, between February 27 and June 28.
David Hockney: Drawing from Life, explores Hockney as a draughtsman from the 1950s to the present by focusing on depictions of himself and a small group of sitters close to him.
An interactive map from Visit Hull and East Yorkshire, meanwhile, offers anyone interested in David Hockney’s life and work arguably the best opportunity in the UK to follow in the footsteps of the iconic British artist, through what is now affectionately thought of as “Hockney Country”.
For those who admire Hockney’s artwork, East Yorkshire is the place to discover – in particular – the inspiration behind some of his most celebrated landscapes.
The Yorkshire Wolds provide the backdrop for a series of paintings that span 50 years of Hockney’s fascination with the area; and a self-guided ‘David Hockney Trail’ around East Yorkshire offers the chance to discover some of the sites that feature in his vivid paintings, which include a favourite location, Woldgate, an old Roman route only a few minutes drive from his Bridlington home where he lived at the time.
Discover Hull : a Surprising City of Culture.
Among other trail highlights are the countryside around the village of Warter – the site of ‘Bigger Trees’, Hockney’s largest work made up of 50 canvases showing a group of skeletal trees high up on the Yorkshire Wolds; and Thixendale, where he created ‘The Three Trees at Thixendale’, a series of paintings at different time of the year to reflect the changing seasons.
These paintings – the so-called Yorkshire landscapes – reveal thorough observations of the changing four seasons, and how light, space and nature are constantly in flux, offering a vivid insight into Hockney’s love of nature.
Art lovers visiting East Yorkshire will also find much to enjoy at the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, which was one of the leading locations during the city’s time as the 2017 UK City of Culture .
A new ‘Visit East Yorkshire’ website is set to launch in 2020, with more details about ‘Hockney Country’, but in the meantime those wanting to follow in the artist’s footsteps can find the interactive map as well as accommodation and food and drink options in the Yorkshire Wolds.
Tourist information about the area in general is available at www.visithullandeastyorkshire.com.