David Hockney The Start of the Spending Spree and The Door opening for the Blonde (M.C.A.T 16) For Sale

David Hockney’s The Start of a Spending Spree And the Door Opening for the Blonde, 1961, is a signed, numbered etching and plate 3 from his celebrated A Rake’s Progress series. In Hockney’s re-interpretation of the 18^th century tale by William Hogarth, the ‘Rake’ is a young gay artist experiencing New York City for the first time in the summer of 1961, mirroring his own homosexual life experiences.

Hockney once said, ‘Art is a dialogue, not a monologue,’ and in The Start of a Spending Spree and the Door Opening for the Blonde creates a conversation between himself, the gay community, and social history. The same young ‘Rake’ figure, recognisable with his wide rimmed glasses, tuft of hair, and defined frame is conveyed as isolated and lonely: a large liquor bottle hangs from the top of the artwork, positioned above his head, bearing the name ‘Lady Clairol.’ The name Lady Clairol refers to the brand of bleach he first used to dye his hair – symbolising his rebellion as an outsider on the social landscape. It could also refer to ‘hitting the bottle’ to fill the abyss of isolation, self-loathe and loss of identity as the figure gazes at a door, a metaphor for the ‘door to freedom’ as he looks through the portal to the ocean.

Hockney pays homage to ancient Japanese iconography, situating a red coloured disc, in the shape of the sun over the water: it symbolises the ‘rising sun,’ denoting lightness and hope, in the distance. Perhaps those future dreams look like freedom from the constraints of his position, a gay man, at a time when it was criminalised, or a future move to the ‘dreamland’ of the sunny West Coast. Hockney’s visit to New York coincided with a movement, where emerging artists viewed the East coast as a ‘safe haven’ for ‘outsiders.’ noting the success of Jean Dubuffet’s Art Brut movement in the 40’s, Jackson Pollock’s 50’s Abstract Expressionism, and later at the beginning of the 80’s, Basquiat’s graffiti art (see Andipa viewing rooms). However, Hockney didn’t feel at ease on the East Coast, as he did in his ‘beloved’ California, so he once again went against the grain of his art contemporaries.

Hockney’s A Rake Progress has remained one of his most compelling and popular series, even for a current generation unafflicted by homosexual laws or persecution, due to the intimate character representation. Hockney skilfully fuses art and reality to give the viewer insight into the social and cultural conventions of the time: whilst the narrative vignettes of the prints provide us with some insight into the ‘Rake’s’ travails, the viewer is left to keep considering the psychological impact of this young gay artist’s journey.