Celebrating David Hockney

The beloved octogenarian has dazzled us with his art for six decades—and shows no sign of stopping

Last year’s “David Hockney” exhibition at The Met Fifth Avenue was a resounding hit. From the moment the Museum’s doors opened each day, scores of enthusiastic visitors flocked to the galleries to explore this major career retrospective, where they encountered room after room filled with his trademark pulsating color, exuberant wit, and life-affirming aesthetic. The New Yorker called it “a revelation,” while the Washington Post extolled it as “one of the delights of the season.” Though the show has now closed, the artist is still hard at work on new paintings, digital drawings, and more.

Gallery view of “Large Interior, Los Angeles.” Oil paint, ink on cut paper, on canvas, 1988. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Natasha Gelman Gift, in honor of William S. Lieberman, 1989 1989.279

Born on this day in 1937 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, Hockney has pursued his singular career for six decades. The Met presented a wide range of work in all the varied media in which he has expressed his unique vision: painting, drawing, photography, collage, video, and kinetic digital drawings. As he turns 82 years old today, he is sure to keep surprising us with his extraordinary creativity and uncommon innovations.

David Hockney at The Met

Three iPad drawings in The Met galleries

Because the traveling exhibition was organized collaboratively with the Tate Britain, London, and the Centre Pompidou, Paris, The Met was especially fortunate to be the only North American venue for this remarkable show—as well as the sole North American purveyor of the paperback edition of the catalogue.

The paperback edition of the catalogue (right) is still available

Shop here to purchase the best-selling exhibition catalogue online, still available in the paperback edition. You will also find our exclusive Hockney poster reproduction.

Happy birthday, David Hockney!