David Hockney: Little Boodge and His Love of Dogs
First beginning around 1980, Hockney’s series of dog paintings reflects his continuous love and affection for his dachshunds. What started out as a lighthearted drawing practice quickly developed into a series of poignant portraits that are now a significant component of his body of work.
David Hockney, Stanley and Boodgie surrounded by his Dog Paintings
Hockney took this technique a step further in 1995 when he started painting his dogs as a way to cope with his sadness over Henry Geldzahler's passing and the deaths of many of his close friends due to the AIDS pandemic in the years before.
“I wanted desperately to paint something loving. I felt such a loss of love I wanted to paint my best friends, Stanley and Boodgie”
During this period, Hockney also started experimenting with aquatint and etching to produce multiples of his dog paintings, which led to the creation of works like Horizontal Dogs.
In the late 1990s, Hockney established a separate print workshop in his Hollywood Hills residence. Here, he worked with his friend Maurice Payne, who would set up the plates so that Hockney could draw straight on them, emulating the looseness of his early dog drawings.
The prints in this group typically feature Stanley and Boodgie, two of Hockney's cherished dachshunds, perched on a cushion that serves as the composition's framing element. They are frequently seen napping, which is the only moment Hockney could get them to sit still for a photograph.
Now Available from Extraordinary Objects:
Displaying one of his beloved Dachshunds, Little Boodge pays homage to one of Hockney’s most significant bodies of work, Dog Paintings.
David Hockney
Little Boodge (1993)
Offset Lithograph
28 x 42 cm
Signed on plate
£750 or £75 a month for 10 month with Own Art
Little Boodge is now available to purchase from Extraordinary Objects. View available works by David Hockney by clicking below, and please get in touch with any inquiries or questions.