Portrait of Richard Hamilton

1971

David Hockney

(British, 1937–2026)

Culture

England, 20th century

Medium

etching and aquatint

Measurements

Platemark: 34.5 x 26.9 cm (13 9/16 x 10 9/16 in.); Sheet: 55.1 x 43.6 cm (21 11/16 x 17 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

Bequest given in honor of Jane Glaubinger from THE ROLAND-GEIST COLLECTION (Gift of George Roland and Susan Roland Sweezy) 2022.81

Edition

Edition 14/30

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Hockney met British artist Richard Hamilton (1922–2011) in the early 1960s, when Hamilton was teaching at the Royal Academy of Art and Hockney was a postgraduate there.

Description

David Hockney is one of the most versatile British artists of the last century. He excelled in his drawings from life in pen and ink, and became a prolific printmaker, translating his drawing technique to lithographs and etching plates. Hockney and the British artist Richard Hamilton became friends in the 1960s, and Hockney spent several summers at Hamilton's holiday home in Cadaqués, France, the setting for this etching. This portrait represents the period in which Hockney experimented with greater realism and naturalistic use of perspective through such elements as the foreshortened chair and crossed legs.