Opening next week at the Morgan Library & Museum, “David Hockney: Drawing from Life” is the first major exhibition to focus on the artist’s portraits on paper. Spanning more than half a century, the works showcased in “Drawing from Life” see Hockney returning again and again to some of the individuals he holds dearest: the designer Celia Birtwell, his friend and former curator Gregory Evans, the printer Maurice Payne, his mother, and himself. Evident everywhere is Hockney’s mastery of color and his devotion to capturing the subject at hand. A selection of images from the show appears below.

David Hockney, Self Portrait with Red Braces, 2003, watercolor on paper, 24″ x 18 1/8″. © David Hockney. Photo: Richard Schmidt.

David Hockney, Gregory, 1978, colored pencil on paper, 17″ x 14″.  © David Hockney. Photo: Richard Schmidt.

David Hockney, Gregory. Los Angeles. March 31st 1982, 1982, composite polaroid, 14 1/2″ x 13 1/4″. © David Hockney. Photo: Richard Schmidt.

David Hockney, Self Portrait, 1954, collage on newsprint, 16 1/2″ X 11 3/4″. © David Hockney. Photo: Richard Schmidt.

David Hockney, Celia, Carennac, August 1971, 1971, crayon on paper, 17″ x 14″. © David Hockney. Photo: Richard Schmidt.

David Hockney, No 1201, 2012, iPad drawing, 37″ x 28″. © David Hockney.

David Hockney, Maurice 1998, 1998, etching, 44″ x 30 1/2″. © David Hockney. Photo: Richard Schmidt.

David Hockney, Study for My Parents and Myself, 1974, crayon on paper, 14″ x 17″. © David Hockney. Photo: Richard Schmidt.

David Hockney, Self Portrait, July 1986, 1986, homemade print on two sheets of paper, 22″ x 8 1/2″. © David Hockney.

David Hockney, Mother, Paris, 1972, colored pencil on paper, 17″ x 14″. © David Hockney. Photo: Richard Schmidt.

“David Hockney: Drawing from Life” will open on October 2, 2020, at the Morgan Library & Museum. The show will run through May 30, 2021.