Lines drawn …
RB Kitaj was known for paintings dense with intellectual references: Jewish identity, the Holocaust and the fragmented world that followed were his favoured subjects. Yet, as he wrote in 1988: “When I’m sick of being difficult, I get a pencil and draw a friend.”
Double take …
The subject in this 1968 work is artist David Hockney, with his then-boyfriend Peter Schlesinger. The double-portrait combination of profile and face-on references Hockney’s own work.
Ancient and modern …
Although Kitaj had his eyes trained on the modern world, he was enthralled by the likes of Gauguin, Van Gogh and Cézanne. The contrast comes into focus in this screenprint, where traditional drawing meets the graphic sensibility of pop.
Friends for life …
Hockney and Kitaj had been friends since meeting at the Royal College of Art in 1959, where Kitaj had encouraged the younger artist to explore his sexuality in his work. This portrait was created in LA, the city immortalised by Hockney as a paradise of sun and sex.
Included in POP! Art in a Changing Britain, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, to 7 May
