“From September 1993, I painted and drew my dogs. This took a certain amount of planning, since dogs are generally not interested in Art (I say generally only because I have now come across a singing dog). Food and love dominate their lives. I make no apologies for the apparent subject matter. These two dear little creatures are my friends. They are intelligent, loving, comical, and often bored. They watch me work; I notice the warm shapes they make together, their sadness and their delights. And, being Hollywood dogs, they somehow seem to know that a picture is being made.” — David Hockney
David Hockney introduces his two dachshunds, Stanley and Boodgie, in this delightful collection. The result of both sharp observation and affection, these paintings and drawings are lyrical studies in form and design. A text by the artist gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how to work with models that don’t necessarily want to sit still.
Contributors
David Hockney
Author
David Hockney (1937–2026) was one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. He produced work in almost every medium—painting, drawing, stage design, photography, and printmaking—and stretched the boundaries of all of them. During his lifetime, he published numerous books with Thames & Hudson, including Hockney’s Pictures, The World According to David Hockney, Spring Cannot be Cancelled: David Hockney in Normandy, and David Hockney by David Hockney (first published in 1976 with a 50th anniversary edition forthcoming in 2026). Thames & Hudson also published the catalog for his major retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in 2025.
