From a young age, acclaimed Pop artist David Hockney (British, b. 1937) cemented his reputation as one of the most innovative and experimental artists of his generation. Hockney/Origins: Early Works from the Roy B. and Edith J. Simpson Collection examines the early period of Hockney’s career in depth, from his time as a student at the Royal College of Art in London during the early 1960s to his formative years in the 1970s.

Among the highlights of the exhibition is the important early work A Grand Procession of Dignitaries in the Semi-Egyptian Style (1961). Here, Hockney took inspiration from Greek poet Constantine Cavafy’s “Waiting for the Barbarians” (1898), painting in a style inspired by ancient Egyptian art and Pablo Picasso, whose retrospective he had seen at Tate Gallery the previous year. As Hockney noted, “I deliberately set out to prove I could do four entirely different sorts of pictures like Picasso. They all had a subtitle, and each was in a different style, Egyptian, illusionistic, flat . . . ” Hockney exhibited this painting and three others, collectively titled Demonstrations of Versatility, at the 1962 Young Contemporaries exhibition at the Royal Society of British Artists Galleries in London, where he won a gold medal. He later expressed the significance of this early painting to his own growing identity and self-awareness as an artist.

This exhibition illuminates a profound origin story, tracing the early ambitions and evolution of a young Hockney at the cusp of a seven-decade career. Comprising sixteen works—including oil and acrylic paintings, pressed paper pulp, crayon drawings, lithographs, and etchings—Hockney/Origins also speaks to the spirit of versatility seen across the artist’s oeuvre. Two large-scale paintings from the 1970s, French Shop (1971) and Japanese House and Tree (1978), exemplify the flat style and vibrant colors of his early cityscapes. In his Paper Pool compositions of 1978, Hockney experimented with the unconventional medium of paper pulp, returning to the iconic swimming pools he first painted after moving to California in 1964. The exhibition concludes with a group of drawings and prints, largely intimate depictions of the friends and colleagues that made up Hockney’s circle, including fashion designer Celia Birtwell, model Ann Upton Graves, and curator Henry Geldzahler. In these sensitively rendered portraits, Hockney brilliantly captured something of the inner essence of his sitters.

Assembled over decades and treasured in the home of longtime Greenwich residents and visionary collectors Roy B. and Edith J. Simpson, many of the works are rarely or never before seen by the public. This loan reflects the Simpsons’ spirit of generosity and philanthropic desire to give back to the community. Hockney/Origins honors this extraordinary collection while also inviting a deeper, focused glimpse into the formative years of the artist’s practice.

This exhibition is organized by Margarita Karasoulas, Curator of Art, with support from Shelley DeMaria, Curatorial Research Associate.

David Hockney (British, b. 1937)
Swimmer Underwater (Paper Pool 16), 1978
Colored and pressed paper pulp, 72 x 85 ½ in.
Roy B. and Edith J. Simpson Collection
© David Hockney / Tyler Graphics Ltd.

David Hockney (British, b. 1937)
Diving Board with Shadow (Paper Pool 15), 1978
Colored and pressed paper pulp, 72 x 85 ½ in.
Roy B. and Edith J. Simpson Collection
© David Hockney / Tyler Graphics Ltd.

David Hockney (British, b. 1937)
Japanese House and Tree, 1978
Acrylic and oil on canvas, 72 x 72 in.
Roy B. and Edith J. Simpson Collection
© David Hockney

David Hockney (British, b. 1937)
A Grand Procession of Dignitaries in the Semi-Egyptian Style, 1961
Oil on canvas, 84 x 144 in.
Roy B. and Edith J. Simpson Collection
© David Hockney

David Hockney (British, b. 1937)
Celia in Red and White Dress, 1972
Colored pencil on paper, 17 x 14 in.
Roy B. and Edith J. Simpson Collection
© David Hockney