David Hockney – 1995 Calendar

Artist: Hockney, David
Publisher: Jonathan Silver
Price: £35 including postage in the UK
Publication Date: 1994
Edition: First edition
Size: Quarto
Condition: Near fine

Condition:

Full page illustration of ‘Little Boodge’ for each month. A near fine, tight, clean copy.

David Hockney And Little Boodge: A Brief Account

Little Boodge (often spelled Boodgie or Boodge) is one of Hockney’s beloved pet dachshunds, frequently appearing in his work. Alongside another dachshund, Stanley, these dogs became central subjects during the late 1980s and 1990s.

Role in Hockney’s work

Hockney’s dogs are not incidental—they form a distinct and deeply personal body of work:

• Featured in the celebrated series Dog Days (1995)
• Painted repeatedly in domestic interiors
• Often depicted sleeping, stretching, or resting quietly

These works are notable for their:

• Intimacy and stillness
• Focus on everyday observation rather than grand subjects
• Subtle emotional tone—calm, attentive, affectionate

Why dachshunds?

Hockney has spoken about why he painted his dogs:

• Dogs are completely present in time—they do not anticipate or reflect
• They offer a subject free from social performance or self-consciousness
• Their elongated forms suit compositional exploration

He once remarked that painting them was about capturing:

“two dear little things… they trust you”

Artistic significance

The “Little Boodge” works mark an important shift:

From public to private subject matter

• Earlier works: portraits of friends, California pools
• Dog paintings: inward-looking, domestic, contemplative

From spectacle to observation

• No narrative or symbolism imposed
• Pure engagement with:
  • form
  • colour
  • presence

Visual characteristics

Typical features of these paintings:

• Low vantage point (often at the dogs’ level)
• Flattened perspective, patterned rugs or floors
• Warm, enclosed interiors
• Strong outlines and simplified modelling

The dogs are frequently:

• Curled into compact shapes
• Positioned in pairs (reinforcing companionship)

Connection to later work

Hockney’s sustained attention to his dogs anticipates later projects like 82 Portraits and 1 Still-Life:

• Both involve repetition with variation
• Both rely on prolonged looking
• Both elevate familiar subjects into serious art

In this sense, Little Boodge is not a minor anecdote but part of a continuum in Hockney’s exploration of perception and intimacy.

Concise interpretation

Little Boodge represents:

• Unconditional presence
• A subject free from ego or performance
• A vehicle for Hockney’s core concern: how we see, over time

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