Clouds - Iowa, 1964
Pencil and crayon on paper
This breathtaking drawing was produced while Hockney was teaching at the University of Iowa in the summer of 1964. Iowa was a real culture shock for Hockney - he found it stiflingly dull. The landscape was boring and flat, with mile after mile of identical houses stretching into the distant skyline, and the only occasional excitement was to be found in the form of huge electrical storms and massive fast-moving cloud formations. As one of the few sources of stimulation during this trip, the clouds that dotted the sky above the state came to absorb much of Hockney’s creative energy. The drawing is a snapshot of a very specific moment in Hockney’s life.
On the back of the picture is a label from the Kasmin Gallery. John Kasmin was Hockney’s first dealer and is universally acknowledged as launching Hockney’s career. He began selling his work in 1961 after seeing his paintings at the Royal College and became his official dealer in 1962, forming a firm friendship; “he [Kasmin] was incredibly energetic and I quickly noticed that he had a good eye, especially for drawings. He was an interesting man, very knowledgeable about pictures and I was part of his eccentric taste.” After leaving the Marlborough Gallery, Kasmin opened his eponymous gallery on Bond Street in partnership with Sheridon Blackwood, the 5th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava. It was the centre of the London art scene and the epitome of Sixties cool. The gallery, on 118 New Bond Street, was the first architect-designed ‘white cube’ space in London. Kasmin’s programme of alternating older established international artists with young, London-based ones, in this state of-the-art ‘machine’ for contemplation, had a profound effect on how young contemporary artists were seen, both by serious international collectors and by the hip crowd that attended the packed openings. With Kasmin’s promotion Hockney rapidly achieved a degree of commercial success unusual for a young painter: by 1963 his shows were already selling out and museum patronage – namely from the Tate Gallery and the Arts Council – swiftly followed. The fact that this drawing passed through such an iconic gallery with huge importance to Hockney’s life makes it even more desirable. It captures Hockney as he was becoming a household name and international star.
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