David Hockney
by Christopher Simon Sykes
- Percentage of approved critics who have given this book a positive review.
Critic Rating
61%
Critic Reviews: 22
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- User rating from iDreamBooks & iTunes
Reader Rating
73%
Reader Ratings: 11
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Synopsis
Drawing on exclusive and unprecedented access to David Hockney's extensive archives, notebooks, and paintings, interviews with family, friends, and on Hockney himself, Christopher Simon Sykes provides a colorful and intimate portrait of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Born in 1937, David Hockney grew up in a northern English town during the days of postwar austerity. By the time he was ten years old he knew he wanted to be an... more
About Christopher Simon Sykes
- All Critics: 22
- Positive: 14
- Negative: 8
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The New York Times | 17 May 2012
. . .does little to situate his subject’s work within a historical context, and the reader occasionally longs for somewhat more scholarly insights. . .
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
The Guardian | 24 Nov 2011
. . .a chatty, knowledgeable, insider's biography, full of anecdotes. . .The drawback is that we end with the subject still in his 30s, with half his career still to come.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
The Globe and Mail | 4 May 2012
Hockney’s adventures abroad. . .are mainly a superficial sexual travelogue, and show us little of how they affected his art.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Cleveland.com | 17 Apr 2012
Some readers may decide Sykes goes overboard with contextual details. . .But you'd be hardhearted not to warm to Hockney.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Lambda Literary | 5 May 2012
. . .offers rich research and details about how Hockney grew up without a lot of money but deeply steeped in culture.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Seattle Times | 17 Jun 2012
Sykes' writing has a real raconteurial flair from the get-go.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
The Telegraph | 13 Dec 2011
Hockney’s story quite clearly is one of triumph against the odds, and the key problem with this book is that Sykes simply chooses to ignore it.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Los Angeles Times | 15 Apr 2012
. . .the timing couldn't be better for this enjoyable and well-sourced book, which — like Hockney's own work — is both conversational and perceptive.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
The Independent | 27 Nov 2011
Sykes is nothing if not fastidious in his research. . .
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Kirkus Reviews | 15 Feb 2012
Readers will eagerly await the second volume.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
The Courier-Journal | 1 Jun 2012
The chatty, gossipy approach sometimes feels a bit like People magazine.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Chicago Sun Times | 19 Apr 2012
. . .Sykes writes well about the artwork itself and Hockney’s art influences. . .
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Publishers Weekly | 5 Mar 2012
Sykes’s revealing text is complemented by sketches, drawings, and personal photographs.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
The Daily Beast | 16 Apr 2012
One wishes for a bit more color in Syke’s narrative, but one look at a Hockney would give you the zest needed.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Biographile | 24 Apr 2012
Beautifully illustrated with full-color and black-and-white photographs throughout, this remarkable book will delight art lovers everywhere.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Dossier Journal | 2 Apr 2012
. . .there is relatively little in the way of extended observation of Hockney’s art. What Sykes does, instead – and does very well – is provide a palpable sense of the man himself.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Pride Source | 17 May 2012
. . .an engaging blend of chatty artist-as-a-young(ish)-man anecdotes and cogent analysis of several of his career-making paintings. . .
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Journal Sentinel | 14 Apr 2012
Here's hoping the biographer doesn't make us wait too long for the next installment.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
Financial Times | 2 Dec 2011
. . .ducking analysis of such major works in favour of banal narrative he squanders a signal opportunity.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
London Evening Standard | 24 Nov 2011
. . .certainly the most moving and amusing account of the most popular British artist of the 2Oth century.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
http://query.nytimes.com | 19 Aug 2012
It is unclear why the book was conceived as a two-volume affair, when one volume would have sufficed.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney -
The New York Times | 17 Aug 2012
You come away from this biography surprised less by the larksome adventures than by his incorruptible work ethic.
Full ReviewDavid Hockney