New Hockney Painting at The Huntington

David Hockney, Tree on Woldgate, oil on canvas (Photo – Richard Schmidt)

Visitors can view David Hockney’s large and striking Tree on Woldgate, 6 March (2006), which depicts the serene Yorkshire countryside where the artist grew up.

By Keisha Raines

In Tree on Woldgate you can see fields in the distance and, in the center, a leafless tree with branches that twist and turn in an almost snakelike manner. The painting comes from a period in Hockney’s career when he created a series of plein air landscapes around his hometown.

The painting hangs near John Constable’s monumental View on the Stour Near Dedham (1822). While the two works were created more than 180 years apart, their inspiration comes from the same source—childhood surroundings—and both convey a sense of place and nostalgia.

One of the most famous British artists of the 20th century, David Hockney emerged as a major contributor to the 1960s pop art movement and has had a multifaced career as a painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. He is perhaps best known for his acrylic paintings of bright swimming pools, split-level homes, and suburban California landscapes.

In 2022, The Huntington acquired its first Hockney works: 17 works on paper that include an artist book, drawings, prints, photocollages, and watercolors. These works display an intimate side of Hockney—like the self-portrait of the artist in red suspenders, bent over a table and peering over his wire-rimmed glasses, paintbrush in hand.

Most personal of all are the ink-on-paper portraits of Gregory Evans, who had a close romantic and business relationship with Hockney for many years.

Evans donated the works to The Huntington under one condition: They will be available to lend to other institutions. Six of the works on paper will have their first excursion this year, traveling to the National Portrait Gallery in London to take part in the exhibition “David Hockney: Drawing from Life,” the 2020 show that closed after only 20 days because of the pandemic. The museum will reprise the exhibition this fall.

Keisha Raines is the communications associate in the Office of Communications and Marketing at The Huntington. This article, first been published on huntington.org, has been edited for clarity and brevity.