“I was 18 when I first visited London, I'm very provincial like that, but I must confess the moment I got to America I thought: This is the place. It was more open, with 24-hour cities and pubs and restaurants that didn't close.”

British painter, stage designer and photographer

David Hockney is a British painter, stage designer, and photographer associated with the pop art movement of the 1960s. He is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. He became known for vivid, stylised realism and for defending figurative art at a time when abstract painting was dominant. His work is often marked by a bold style, and his long career has moved across painting, stage design, and photography.