
The Card Players
Inspired by Paul Cézanne’s group of paintings titled The Card Players (1890–95), Hockney paints several multi-viewpoint images of that scenario; however, his models are seated at a table rendered in reverse perspective. Next, using digital software, he creates a photographic drawing of the same models seated in the studio with his painting of them, Card Players #3 (2014), alongside his iconic photographic collage, Pearblossom Highway (1986), on the wall behind them. The different elements of the photographic drawing are individually photographed and then collaged using Photoshop to create a picture with many perspective points. In the Financial Times, Francis Hodgson writes: “Hockney isn’t trying to kid us: he leaves the traces of his multiple-angled gaze fully visible. A face is perfectly sharp, seen from close. But so is the carpet four or five feet lower. The lines on a floor move in several different directions, as they really do as you move over them. In life, we move our eyes to acquire the information that the brain processes into a ‘view.’ That’s what Hockney has done.”
More portraits
By year’s end, Hockney completes 27 more portraits of individual sitters for his series begun in 2013, which now includes more than 60 paintings. He also returns to painting his Los Angeles home and garden.

Exhibitions
Solo
- The Arrival of Spring, 1853 Gallery, Saltaire (opens Feb 18).
- Louisiana on Paper: David Hockney, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk (Mar 19–Jun 21).
- The Arrival of Spring, Pace Beijing (Apr 18–Jun 6).
- A Rake’s Progress, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR (Apr 18–Aug 2); brochure with a text by Mary Weaver Chapin.
- Painting and Photography, Annely Juda Fine Art, London (May 15–Jun 27); travels to L.A. Louver, Venice, CA (Jul 15–Sep 19); catalogue.
- The Arrival of Spring, Galerie Lelong, Paris (May 21–Jun 24).
- The Arrival of Spring, Annely Juda Fine Art, London (Jul 9–Aug 29).
- David Hockney, Early Drawings, Offer Waterman & Co, London (Sep 25–Oct 23); catalogue.
- L’Arrivée du printemps, Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles (Oct 11, 2015–Jan 17, 2016); catalogue with a text by Brice Curiger, interview by Martin Bailey.
- Early Drawings, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York (Nov 3–Dec 1); catalogue.
Group
- Self: Image and Identity, Turner Contemporary, Margate (Jan 24–May 10).
- Hockney, Picasso, Tinguely, and Other Highlights from the Kunstsammlung Würth, Het Noordbrabants Museum, Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands (Feb 21–May 17).
- Landscapes of the Mind (Paisajismo británico. Colección Tate, 1690–2007), Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City (Mar 25–Jun 24).
- International Pop, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (Apr 10–Aug 28); travels to Dallas Museum of Art (Oct 11, 2015–Jan 17, 2016) and Philadelphia Museum of Art (Feb 18–May 15, 2016); catalogue.
- 50 for 50: Gifts on the Occasion of LACMA’s Anniversary, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Apr 26–Sep 13).
- From Hockney to Holbein: The Würth Collection in Berlin, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (Sep 11, 2015–Jan 10, 2016); catalogue.
- Seeing Nature: Landscape Masterworks from the Paul G. Allen Family Collection, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR (Oct 1, 2015–Jan 31, 2016); travels to The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. (Feb 6–May 8, 2016), Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Jul 10–Sept 18, 2016), New Orleans Museum of Art (Oct 14, 2016–Jan 16, 2017), and Seattle Art Museum (Feb 16–May 23, 2017); catalogue.
- The Serial Impulse at Gemini G.E.L., National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (Oct 4, 2015–Feb 7, 2016); travels to Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Sep 11, 2016–Jan 2, 2017).
- Picasso.Mania, Grand Palais, Paris (Oct 7, 2015–Feb 29, 2016); catalogue.
- Experience 19: TOUCH, El Segundo Museum of Art (Oct 11, 2015–Jan 31 2016).
- California Hall of Fame, California Museum, Sacramento (Oct 28, 2015–Oct 23, 2016).
- This is Not a Connection, Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles (Nov 21, 2015–Mar 12, 2016); catalogue.
- The Figure in Process, Pivot Art + Culture, Seattle (Dec 5, 2015–Feb 28, 2016).
Honor
Honor
- State of California Hall of Fame inductee, awarded by Governor Jerry Brown.