David Hockney Meeting the Good People (Washington) (M.C.A.T 14) For Sale

Meeting the Good People (Washington) is a signed, number etching from David Hockney’s A Rake’s Progress: it is an intricate composition from the artist’s 16- part series of etchings, A Rake’s Progress, which riffed on the 18^th century tale by William Hogarth. In Hockney’s interpretation, however, the ‘Rake’ is a semi-autobiographical take on his own journey as a young gay artist arriving in New York City.

Although rich in symbolism, Meeting the Good People (Washington) depicts iconic landmarks and locations immediately recognisable to the viewer: in this artwork, Hockney has left New York City to visit the US Capital, Washington, DC, where he encounters monuments to the ‘good people,’ who have served the country or played an important part in American history. Three main statues are the focus of the artwork: the first is the giant memorial of Lincoln, then a smaller statue commemorating Jefferson, and finally a small but iconic obelisk which is a symbolic memorial to the first US president. Glancing towards these historical emblems, slightly ominously, is ‘the rake’ with his recognisable graphic outlined glasses and tussle of hair.

Imbued in Hockney’s artwork, Meeting the Good People (Washington) is a wry rebellious touch: he casts ‘halos’ around these statues signalling that those who play to the establishment and social convention are placed on a pedestal: that therein lies a hypocrisy that the land of freedom and democracy celebrates those who once were in support of oppression of demarginalized groups, from slaves to native Americans.

A Rake’s Progress is a timeless narrative portrait of Hockney’s ‘Rake’ character, which remains compelling and relevant to a new generation of viewers, living in a time of gender tolerance, largely due to its rich symbolism, intimate character representation, and American iconography. Living in a post truth era, again defined by political and social divide, Hockney’s personally infused narrative and character portrayal of an ‘outsider’ gay artist, defying societal norms, part of a generation who triggered a cultural and social revolution, is at once poignant and galvanising.