When Hockney met Betty: new book uncovers mysterious Beverly Hills Housewife in famous Los Angeles painting
Author James Cahill's account of the burgeoning 1960s LA art scene explores links between collector Betty Freeman and the late Yorkshire artist
In the late summer of 1966, renowned artist David Hockney visited Beverly Hills to photograph the garden and swimming pool of Betty Freeman's home. Little did he know that this visit would lead to the creation of his iconic portrait, "Beverly Hills Housewife" (1966-67). Upon meeting Freeman, Hockney was captivated by her enigmatic presence and the glimpse into her life that he was granted through the painting.
The title of the work, while seemingly assigning her a status, simultaneously keeps her at arm's length, leaving her to be contemplated as an archetype. Hockney's meeting with Peter Schlesinger, his first serious boyfriend, in the summer of 1966 acted as a catalyst for his shift from generic scenes of Los Angeles to specific portraits, including Freeman.
His portrait of Betty Freeman is characterized by a pervasive sense of her being apart and unreachable, with a green strip of turf in the foreground separating her from Hockney and the viewer. Her life as an art collector and patron of music, as well as her friendship with fellow artists such as Sam Francis and Clyfford Still, remains relatively unknown.
The painting's enigmatic qualities and its connection to Renaissance art, like Piero della Francesca's The Flagellation of Christ, make it a compelling subject for further exploration.
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