The Story of David Hockney’s Family Portrait

A family portrait with and without reflection!

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The unfinished family portrait of the British artist DAVID HOCKNEY “My Parents and Myself” will be presented for the first time since its inception in the 1970s at the National Gallery of London from February 27 to June 28, 2020. Unfortunately, the health crisis of these few months will probably have allowed only a very small number of people to admire this portrait by one of our favourite artists. Caroline had a poster of Hockney in her room throughout her childhood, and as a result, he became like a long time friend to the whole family! This painting really has an unusual history in that David Hockney first painted this portrait of his parents in 1975 with his reflection in the mirror in the middle of the room. Then he decided to abandon this project (parent/child relationships can be a bit tumultuous at times!).

In 1977, he took up the project again from scratch, and to his surprise, his reflection disappeared… As was to be expected, the new painting changed its name and is now called “My Parents”. It belongs to the private collection of the Tate Museum.