David Hockney - A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting

The book invites readers to discover David Hockney’s diverse forms of expression. Alongside his 90-metre-long frieze, inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry, ten new paintings – five portraits and five still lifes – trace the artist’s engagement with time, perspective and art history, and reflect his constant call to see with both eyes and to consider how painting can shape our experience of the world.

"A Year in Normandie" is a monumental 70-metre-long artwork by David Hockney, capturing the changing seasons in Normandy through over 100 iPad paintings created during the 2020 pandemic. This book brings together David Hockney’s famous frieze with some of his most recent paintings: a celebration of the idea of simple beauty that Hockney has championed throughout his life. 

David Hockney moved to the Pays d’Auge in Normandy in 2019, where he found inspiration in the region’s orchards, gardens, and tranquil countryside. Influenced by the Bayeux Tapestry, Hockney embarked on a project to depict the arrival of spring and the progression of the seasons in a continuous narrative. The work was created primarily on an iPad, a medium Hockney has used for over a decade, allowing him to capture light, weather, and color changes with speed and precision.

Exhibition shown at Serpentine North Gallery, London (12 March - 23 August 2026)