Hockney's Yorkshire Masterpieces revealed to World
Published: 7 September, 2011
Yorkshire is to be the centrepiece attraction at the Royal Academy of Arts as the first major exhibition of David Hockney's landscape work is presented in the UK.
The bulk of new work for the exhibition, David Hockney: A Bigger Picture, will feature Hockney's landscape paintings of Yorkshire, many large in scale, including three new groups of work made since he returned to live in Bridlington in 2005.
It is hoped that the exhibition will encourage many of his fans from across the world to visit Yorkshire and discover the landscape that has inspired Bradford-born Hockney throughout his lifetime.
Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "Hockney is one of Yorkshire's most famous sons and this landmark exhibition will showcase to the world the emotional engagement he has with Yorkshire's iconic landscape. We are proud to be the tourism partner for this exhibition, which we hope will inspire old and new audiences alike to visit the county and locations which have inspired one of Britain's modern day masters."
Hockney's Yorkshire spans the width of the county. He was born and studied art in Bradford and Salts Mill in Saltaire still houses one of the finest collections of his work in the world, one he constantly adds to and updates. The Yorkshire Wolds are the inspiration for many of his Bigger Picture paintings with locations such as Garrowby Hill, Kilham, Thixendale and Woldgate Woods on display. While the Yorkshire coast, where he now lives, is the subject matter for a series of films, also to be shown for the first time, revealing his relationship with the landscape around his Bridlington home.
Welcome to Yorkshire works with Visit Hull & East Yorkshire (VHEY) to bring visitors into East Yorkshire. It is hoped this campaign will highlight the stunning Yorkshire Wolds countryside and have a major impact on tourism to the area.
Hockney, who splits his time between Bridlington and California, will be only the second Royal Academician to occupy the Main Galleries of the Royal Academy in his lifetime.
His stellar reputation was established while he was still a student; his work was featured in the exhibition Young Contemporaries, which heralded the birth of British Pop Art. He visited Los Angeles in the early 1960s and settled there soon after. He is also closely associated with southern California and has produced a large body of work there over many decades.
The exhibition will run at the Royal Academy from 21 January 2012 to 9 April 2012.
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Editors' Notes:
Tickets for David Hockney: A Bigger Picture are available daily at the RA. To book tickets in advance please tel: 0844 209 0051 or visit www.royalacademy.org.uk.
About Welcome to Yorkshire
- Welcome to Yorkshire is the official destination management organisation for Yorkshire, working to grow the county's visitor economy.
- Welcome to Yorkshire is funded by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency charged with improving the Yorkshire and Humber economy.
- Key facts include:
- Tourism in Yorkshire is worth £7 billion annually
- The county's industry employs almost a quarter of a million people
- There are 216 million visits to Yorkshire each year
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Andy Denton - Press Officer
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