Self-portrait (Scottish Arts Council 1; Tokyo 1)

Hockney made his first lithographs at the Bradford College of Art under the tutelage of Derek Stafford, who regarded the young artist as one of the most talented students he had ever taught and encouraged him to apply for a place at the Royal College of Art. At the time of this self-portrait, Hockney was a great admirer of the painter Stanley Spencer, so much so that he modelled his own appearance on the older artist, cutting his hair in a fringe and donning Spencer-esque prescription glasses. This early self-portrait has been described by Mark Glazebrook, former Director of the Whitechapel Gallery, as 'positively prophetic in its fluent use of line, its bright colour, its technical experimentation and in its direct, confident, quirky self-presentation' (David Hockney Portraits, exh. cat., National Portrait Gallery, London, 2006, p. 26). This impression was given in 1964 to Reggie Maddox, Hockney's art teacher at Bradford Grammar School.