David Hockney’s illustrations of six Grimm’s fairy tales are next up at Crystal Bridges at the Massey in Bentonville. According to biographer Peter Webb, Hockney created the copperplate etchings because he loved the fairytales and illustrations by Rackham and Dulac. Webb writes:
In 1969 he decided to make his own images. He especially enjoyed the elements of magic in the tales, and his images focus on his imaginative response to the descriptions in the text rather than attempting to concentrate on the most important events in the narrative. They are therefore more than simply illustrations: they stand on their own as images, independent of the stories.
Hockney, 73, is a fascinating British artist whose evolving pop sensibility, I think, makes him one of the great artists of his time. Read more about the artist here.
The Landau Traveling Exhibition will include Hockney’s book of etchings (now out of print) and information on the woman who told the Grimms brothers the stories they recorded.