As the world pays tribute to revolutionary British artist David Hockney, who has died aged 88, we revisit. Home and garden Archive story from May 1969. The photographs offer a rare glimpse into the artist’s Notting Hill studio flat, where he lived and worked during a pivotal moment in his career. Hockney’s star rose in the 1960s; This studio served as both his home and workplace at a time when his groundbreaking Pop Art – particularly his Swimming Pool paintings – began to define the aesthetic of the era.
This piece was originally published more than half a century ago. Looking at the pictures today, the interior looks incredibly modern; Hockney’s creativity and unique style is evident. This flat was in a corner of Notting Hill at that time. When he found it, the room suited his needs, simply because it was large enough for him to work and think. But as he began to make a name for himself, what he needed from the space changed. When Hockney was overseeing the hanging of an exhibition of his paintings in the United States, he wrote and asked Mo McDermott, a young decorator. LondonMoving on with painters and joiners and making the place more of a home – something solid and inspiring for him when he came back from America. Here we join the original story…
Read the original story here
Mr McDermott took the artist at his word and acted boldly, stripping the wooden floor, painting the walls and ceiling white with touches of light blue; Introducing bookshelves and some special items, including two tables bought at a junk furniture sale from the Strand Palace Hotel and a Tiffany lamp brought back from the Artist States. It also introduced the most distinctive touch likely to be found in any London house this year: several wooden cut-outs trees Designed and made by himself.
Ray Williams
