David Hockney: Egyptian Journeys

David Hockney: Egyptian Journeys accompanies the first exhibition ever to bring together a substantial selection of the drawings made by the leading British artist during visits to Egypt in 1963 and 1978, along with other drawings and prints relating to his interest in Egyptian themes. Already a celebrated painter at the age of 26, Hockney was commissioned by a leading London newspaper, The Sunday Times, to travel to Egypt in order to create a kind of visual diary of his experience there. He saw Cairo and its environs, Alexandria and finally Luxor. He responded to his first experience of the country and its monuments with some of the liveliest and most inventive drawings he had yet made directly from life. His contact with one of the world’s major civilisations left a permanent mark on his subsequent work, encouraging him towards a greater naturalism through direct observation. Just over two years later, in preparation for a set of etchings illustrating the poetry of C. P. Cavafy, he revisited the Middle East, this time travelling to Beirut in search of inspiration for imagery suggestive of early 20th-century Alexandria. In April 1978, after nearly a year’s concentrated work on the designs for a production of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute, Hockney made his second visit to Egypt, this time in the company of two American friends. On this occasion, he travelled to Cairo, Aswan and Luxor, producing sumptuous largescale views in coloured crayon.” “Hockney’s Egyptian drawings have been long admired and are recognised as among the masterpieces of one of the greatest draughtsmen active today. This publication, the first to concentrate on this group of works, illustrates and documents an extraordinary journey of the imagination.  A scarce catalogue in near fine condition.