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Lot Essay
Hockney left England for the bright hills of California in 1963, embarking on a new chapter of his career in which the glitterati of the openly gay community would inspire and inform his artwork for years to come. Meanwhile, in New York, a teenaged George Harris III was first encountering these same circles of artists, thinkers and performers; within three years, a friendship would be born that is immortalised in this tenderly rendered ink drawing.
Born into a family of forward-thinking performers, Harris was, from an early age, set to be a true provocateur; in 1967, whilst placing flowers in the barrels of military police guns at an anti-war protest, he was immortalised by Bernie Boston in a Pulitzer Prize-nominated photograph. More famously known by his latterly adopted name, Hibiscus, Harris became known in the late 1960s for being co-founder of the celebrated San Francisco drag troupe, The Cockettes. His outrageous personality was matched by an equally decadent wardrobe of sequins, lace, and an oft-glittered beard.
This drawing, by contrast, presents a very different image of Harris. Sharply dressed in a suit and tie, his hair combed neatly and his hands clasped gently in his lap, hei s, much like his generational suffixed name would suggest, the image of a classic gentleman. Hockney’s typically sparse use of line and shading deceives us here, presenting us with a very different character to the bold symbol of counterculture that Harris is now known to be. Harris’s sister once referred to her brother as a lifelong 'chameleon', ever performing (H. Silva, 'Karma Chameleon' in The New York Times Magazine, Fall 2003, p. 106). Perhaps, then, this drawing captures one of Harris's truly convincing performances: in this case, a straight-laced, straight-thinking man. In a lifetime filled with cross-dressing, costumes and excess, this performance may, therefore, be the campest of all.
Born into a family of forward-thinking performers, Harris was, from an early age, set to be a true provocateur; in 1967, whilst placing flowers in the barrels of military police guns at an anti-war protest, he was immortalised by Bernie Boston in a Pulitzer Prize-nominated photograph. More famously known by his latterly adopted name, Hibiscus, Harris became known in the late 1960s for being co-founder of the celebrated San Francisco drag troupe, The Cockettes. His outrageous personality was matched by an equally decadent wardrobe of sequins, lace, and an oft-glittered beard.
This drawing, by contrast, presents a very different image of Harris. Sharply dressed in a suit and tie, his hair combed neatly and his hands clasped gently in his lap, hei s, much like his generational suffixed name would suggest, the image of a classic gentleman. Hockney’s typically sparse use of line and shading deceives us here, presenting us with a very different character to the bold symbol of counterculture that Harris is now known to be. Harris’s sister once referred to her brother as a lifelong 'chameleon', ever performing (H. Silva, 'Karma Chameleon' in The New York Times Magazine, Fall 2003, p. 106). Perhaps, then, this drawing captures one of Harris's truly convincing performances: in this case, a straight-laced, straight-thinking man. In a lifetime filled with cross-dressing, costumes and excess, this performance may, therefore, be the campest of all.