Flight into Italy – Swiss Landscape

1959–1962

“New Contemporaries” alongside Peter Blake

While still a student at the Royal College of Art, Hockney appears in the exhibition “New Contemporaries” alongside Peter Blake, which announced the arrival of British Pop art. He is associated with the movement, though his early works show expressionist elements similar to some of Francis Bacon’s.

1959–1962

At the Royal College: Kitaj, Bowling, Stokoe

At the Royal College of Art in London Hockney meets R. B. Kitaj, Frank Bowling and Neil Stokoe.

1960–1961

At 23 he comes out as gay

While still studying at the Royal College of Art, Hockney comes out as gay — seven years before the Sexual Offences Act 1967 decriminalised homosexual acts between men over 21 in England and Wales.

1962

A diploma protest: “Life Painting for a Diploma”

When the college said it would not let him graduate without a life drawing of a live model, Hockney painted “Life Painting for a Diploma” in protest: he had refused to write an essay required for the final examination and insisted on being assessed solely on his artworks. Recognising his talent and growing reputation, the college changed its regulations and awarded him a diploma.

1963

First solo exhibition at Kasmin Limited

At twenty-six Hockney has his first one-man show at Kasmin Limited.

1963–1964

Moving to Los Angeles

Hockney moves from Britain to Los Angeles, in 1964 by some accounts, in 1963 by others; the move is attributed to a more liberal political climate. There he is inspired to paint a series of swimming pools in vibrant acrylic, then a comparatively new medium.