Hockney He was born on July 9, 1937, in Bradford, Yorkshire; He studied at the Bradford College of Art (1953-57) and the Royal College of Art in London (1959-62), where he received a gold medal in the postgraduate competition. He visited the United States in 1961 and returned in 1964-67 to teach at the universities of Iowa, Colorado, and California; He then divided his time between England and the United States until he settled permanently in Los Angeles in 1978. The intense and dazzling light of that city had a marked influence on his work.
Much of Hockney’s subjects are autobiographical, including portraits and self-portraits and quiet, incidental scenes of his friends and their homes (for example, Portrait of an Artist, 1971). The casual elegance and calm luminosity of these pieces also dominate his still lifes. His experimentation in photography during the 80s, resulted in Pearblossom Hwy., 11–18th April 1986 and other ambitious photo-collages.
He published several series of graphic works in book form, including illustrations for Six fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm (1970) and The Blue Guitar (1977). Hockney he also achieved international prominence as an opera and ballet set designer.
His books include Hockney by Hockney (1976), Travels With Pen, Pencil, and Ink (1978), Paper Pools (1980), David Hockney Photographs (1982), China Diary (with Stephen Spender; 1982), and Hockney Paints the Stage (1983).
In 1989 he received the Praemium Imperiale Prize for Painting from the Art Association of Japan.