82 portraits and 1 still-life
Having failed to be organised enough to get in to the Hockney exhibition at the RA a few years ago, we booked in advance for 82 portraits and 1 still-life, although in the end it wasn't all that busy. The works are a series Hockney began in 2013 of portraits of friends and family, all painted on identically-sized canvases (the still-life is from a missed appointment), giving them something of a production-line feel. They have the quintessentially bright colour palette though perhaps they don't have the sharp detail of some of his works. Despite the informality of the series (spontaneous, rather than commissioned), not many of the sitters appeared to be enjoying themselves. I enjoyed particularly the portraits of Joan Agajanian Quinn, Margaret Hockney, Barry Humphries and Jacob Rothschild.