In the lead-up to this museum blockbuster, two London galleries have joined forces to exhibit a comprehensive set of some of Hockney’s less familiar and earliest works.
A complete set of his early etchings, some never shown publicly before, will comprise the loan and selling exhibition opening at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert on February 3.
The etchings included were produced in 1961-64, a period covering part of Hockney’s stint at the Royal College of Art (1959-62) and his earliest years as an independent artist.
Among the most recognisable are the series A Rake’s Progress, appearing in its entirety, ECR, on loan from the Tate, and In Memory of Cecchino Bracci, on loan from a private collection.
The show is the result of a collaborative effort with Lyndsey Ingram, formerly of Sims Reed Gallery London, who launched her own epnoymous gallery in 2016.
A regular dealer in Hockney’s prints, she specialises in post-war American and British original prints.
“These are not pretty pictures,” Ingram says of the etchings. “Instead, they form a gritty diary of his youth as an emerging artist exploring subversive themes.
“They shed light on what mattered to him artistically and personally at the time and are crucial to understanding Hockney’s evolution as an artist.”
The exhibition runs from February 3-March 10.
