Description
Wednesday, July 29 at 4pm
Directed by Phil Grabsky and presented by Tim Marlow
Running time: 85 minutes
Shown to mark the occasion of David Hockney’s passing on June 11, 2026 at the age of 88.
Widely considered Britain’s most popular artist, David Hockney was a global sensation with exhibitions in London, New York, Paris and beyond, attracting millions of visitors worldwide.
Featuring intimate and in-depth interviews with Hockney, this revealing film focuses on two blockbuster exhibitions held in 2012 and 2016 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
Director Phil Grabsky secured privileged access to craft this cinematic celebration of a 21st century master of creativity.
- Featuring never-before-seen interviews with one of the world’s favorite artists
- Offering behind-the-scenes access to Hockney’s wildly popular exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts
- Was originally released to mark the artist’s 80th birthday milestone
Featuring intimate and in-depth interviews with Hockney, the film offers rare insights into the man behind such iconic works as A Bigger Splash and A Closer Grand Canyon. In conversation with Tim Marlow (Artistic Director at the Royal Academy of Arts), Hockney revealed anecdotes from across his artistic and personal life – from his first trip abroad to Egypt in 1963, to the effects of the death of his close friend Jonathan Silver in 1997.
The film also provides a rare chance to explore two of Hockney’s landmark exhibitions from his late career, guided by the exhibitions’ curatorial team and the artist himself. A Royal Academician since 1991, Hockney had a close relationship with the institution, creating both exhibitions specifically for the gallery spaces and thus making them entirely unique shows.
For A Bigger Picture Hockney returned to his native Yorkshire. This return to home was cathartic for Hockney and saw him capture the changing landscape through the seasons, using new techniques, not least iPad drawings and video. Four years later for 82 Portraits and One Still Life, Hockney also adopted a new mode of working, he invited sitters to his studio with a strict deadline of three days for each portrait. The 82 finished paintings are themselves one complete work.
The film features expert insights from art critics Martin Gayford and Jonathan Jones, and Edith Devaney (Senior Contemporary Curator at the Royal Academy of Arts) who sat twice for Hockney.
