The window was commissioned to celebrate the reign of Her Majesty The Queen and was unveiled this week.
The new window is located in the Abbey’s north transept, which was previously just plain glass. It will in future be known formally as 'The Queen's Window'.
It's located in an Abbey that was founded in 960AD and has been the church in which the monarch is crowned since 1066. It is also the final resting place of 17 monarchs. It's a very special place for new public art.
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| The Queens Window - a new stained glass window in a building which |
About David Hockney
The reason for commissioning David Hockney was essentially that
- he has been one of the most influential artists of The Queen's reign
- his contribution has been recognised to date with an Order of Merit and as a Companion of Honour
- he has a reputation as an artist who works with a =wide range of media and has always been prepared to try new media - or, as in this case, a very traditional method of portraying a visual image
It must feel like a tremendous honour not only to be given the opportunity of celebrating the life of the Queen but also to be able to do so in a building where the artwork will last for centuries.
The artists's brief to provide something symbolic or representational of the subject, rather than a heraldic or figurative design, and for it to be recognisable as his work.
Hockney's response was to develop an image which reflects the The Queen's well known deep affection and connection to the countryside and her identity as a countrywoman.
He designed a country scene, set within his beloved Yorkshire. It features one of his favourite trees at the point in the year that he finds it most attractive - when the hawthorn blossom bursts forth in frothy clouds. He regards that as the celebratory aspect - akin to champagne bubbles!
Unsurprisingly, especially as the design was intended to be representative of his work, it also uses his distinct and vivid colour palette of yellow, red, blue, pink, orange and greens which he has used in the past for paintings of spring in the Yorkshire Wolds.
Barley Studio - a leading stained glass studio of over forty years based in York (which has a rather large Minster with rather a lot of stained glass!) - were commissioned to create the window using traditional techniques
The stained glass artists and craftspeople worked with David Hockney to translate his vision for the window into a reality in stained glass.
The first task was to get the precise measurements of the window so as to create stencils of the different parts of the window. This was done in May 2017 - and I'm guessing they were at the top of some scaffolding or in a cherry picker for quite a lot of the time.
The next stage involved creating the different sections of the window using lead and stained glass matching the palette determined by Hockney.
When all parts of the window had been made they then needed to be assembled within the window void so as to create the stained glass window. Needless to say this is a job requiring some experience and expertise!
The stained glass window is a piece of art - and as with every piece of art created by Hockney it contains the artist's signature.
Below is a video of David Hockney speaking about the whole process.
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, said:
The window will be dedicated formally by the Dean in the presence of the artist, his family, friends and invited guests on Tuesday 2nd October at 11:30am.
I've written about David Hockney on a number of occasions on this blog. You can READ my posts BELOW - they're organised backwards by years.
About the Commission
The artists's brief to provide something symbolic or representational of the subject, rather than a heraldic or figurative design, and for it to be recognisable as his work.
Hockney's response was to develop an image which reflects the The Queen's well known deep affection and connection to the countryside and her identity as a countrywoman.
He designed a country scene, set within his beloved Yorkshire. It features one of his favourite trees at the point in the year that he finds it most attractive - when the hawthorn blossom bursts forth in frothy clouds. He regards that as the celebratory aspect - akin to champagne bubbles!
Unsurprisingly, especially as the design was intended to be representative of his work, it also uses his distinct and vivid colour palette of yellow, red, blue, pink, orange and greens which he has used in the past for paintings of spring in the Yorkshire Wolds.
About the making of the window
Although David Hockney designed the window, its making was not his responsibility.Barley Studio - a leading stained glass studio of over forty years based in York (which has a rather large Minster with rather a lot of stained glass!) - were commissioned to create the window using traditional techniques
The stained glass artists and craftspeople worked with David Hockney to translate his vision for the window into a reality in stained glass.
The first task was to get the precise measurements of the window so as to create stencils of the different parts of the window. This was done in May 2017 - and I'm guessing they were at the top of some scaffolding or in a cherry picker for quite a lot of the time.
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| Barley Studio staff - Keith Marley and Helen Whittaker - take precise measurements |
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| Helen Whitaker works on the window at the Barley Studio |
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| The installation of the Queen's Window |
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| David Hockney's signature |
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, said:
I’m very pleased that David Hockney accepted my invitation to design this window which is a celebration of the reign of Her Majesty The Queen. What he has produced is directly accessible with wonderful colours. It is a country scene to honour a woman who loves her country.
Dedication of the Window
The window will be dedicated formally by the Dean in the presence of the artist, his family, friends and invited guests on Tuesday 2nd October at 11:30am.
More about David Hockney
I've written about David Hockney on a number of occasions on this blog. You can READ my posts BELOW - they're organised backwards by years.
Those in 2006 and 2016 contain references to his artwork about the Yorkshire landscape - including the major exhibition he had at the Royal Academy of Art - which I will never ever forget
- 2017: About David Hockney and Watercolour
- 2016: A biography of Hockney on iPlayer first shown by the BBC in 2015 (and repeated in 2016)
- 2014
- Hockney, Printmaker (Review #2) - The Etchings - about Hockney Printmaker at Dulwich Picture Gallery
- The Arrival of Spring - David Hockney's latest exhibition - 85% of the digital drawings in The Arrival of Spring had been sold before this exhibition opened at Annely Juda Fine Art.
- Hockney is bigger than Van Gogh!- about my final and fourth visit to A Bigger Picture on the final night
- 2012
- David Hockney on sitting for Lucian Freud
- Review: David Hockney RA - A Bigger Picture
- 22nd January 2012 - Who's made a mark this week? "This post this week has rather a slant towards Hockney, digital art on an iPad and pastels - which pretty much reflects my week."
- 15th January 2012 - Who's made a mark this week? This has a lot of references to the publicity overdrive for the A Bigger Picture exhibition at the RA and includes references to interesting articles
- 2009
- David Hockney - recent exhibitions - about various recent exhibitions in various countries
- Review: David Hockney - A Bigger Picture - about Bruno Wollheim's film David Hockney - A Bigger Picture
- David Hockney "15 sketchbooks" DVD - a further update
- 2007
- Turner Watercolours with Hockney and Shirley - about Hockney's curation of BP Summer Exhibition: Hockney on Turner Watercolours (11 June 2007 – 3 February 2008).
- Drawing, tea and DVDs at the National Portrait Gallery - another long slow look at the at the David Hockney Portraits exhibition before it closed
- 2006
- David Hockney: Fifteen Sketchbooks 2002-2003 - Update on DVD availability
- David Hockney and Shirley - sharing art and sketchbooks - about the David Hockney Portraits exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and his Fifteen Sketchbooks completed in 2002-3003
- Two London exhibitions for David Hockney about "David Hockney Portraits - Life Love Art" at the NPG and "A Year in Yorkshire" in at the Annely Juda Gallery
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