David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) is a large acrylic-on-canvas pop art painting completed in May 1972. The painting measures 7 ft x 10 ft and features two figures – one swimming underwater and one clothed male figure looking down at the swimmer. It has become one of the most iconic images in the artist’s oeuvre and marks a need for closure on Hockney’s several years of working in a naturalistic style, which he has come to consider too reliant on a photo-realism.
The painting combines two of Hockney’s signature motifs- the male figure and swimming pool. It is said that the subject derives from two photographs: One was this swimmer in Hollywood swimming pool, captured by Hockney himself, while another was taken during his trip to St Tropez where Peter Schlesinger stood on a diving board gazing into Hockney’s lover Jonathon Winters who swam below them.^1
The movement of water is symbolized by curved white lines that surround and move towards the diving figure in contrast to calm, still waters elsewhere- demonstrating its birth as part allegory over younger lovers seeking freedom away from societal expectations.
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) has garnered critical acclaim over the years; it sold for $90.3 million at Christie’s auction in New York City in 2018^2 making it one of David Hockney’s most expensive artworks ever sold publicly.
References:
1. Dodie Kazanjian “David Hockey Has Plenty Of Ideas”, Vogue, November 14th, 2018
2. Heather Russell “David Hunting set record selling ‘Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)'”. CNBC[online], November16th ,2018
