The Set for Parade - Hockney, David - Paintings and Drawings for the Metropolitan Opera’s “Parade” 1981

David Hockney (born July 9, 1937, in Bradford, England) is one of the most influential British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Known for his vibrant use of color and innovative exploration of perspective, Hockney’s works consists of painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, and digital art. He gained international acclaim in the 1960s as a key figure in the Pop Art movement. Hockney's work often explores themes of identity, space, and technology. He has a reputation as a trailblazer in modern and contemporary art.

David Hockney was born in Bradford on July 9, 1937. He is a British painter, graphic artist, set designer and photographer. He is also considered an influential artist of the 20th century with a focus on landscape painting and portrait painting. Hockney is often referred to as a leading representative of art related to Pop Art and has a very unique style. His works fetch high prices at auctions. His iconographic portrait of an artist (Pool with Two Figures) from 1972, for example, was sold at Christie’s on November 15, 2018, for a retail price of $ 90.3 million. Until 2019, it was the most expensive picture of a living artist auctioned at auction worldwide.

After attending Wellington Primary School, Bradford Grammar School, Bradford College of Art (1953-1957), he enrolled at the Royal College of Art in London in 1959. In 1958 he previously completed his "National Service" as a civil service in the medical sector. He studied at the Royal College of Art with Ridley Scott and met R. B. Kitaj. At the Royal College of Art, Hockney appeared alongside Peter Blake in the exhibition "Young Contemporaries", which heralded the arrival of British pop art. His early works also show expressionistic and gestural elements that were similar to works by Francis Bacon. In 1961 he met John Kasmin, who recognized the talent and became his publisher and gallery owner. After the college's first disagreements over Hockney's homosexuality, he finally got his diploma in 1962. At the time, homosexuality was still prohibited in the UK.