Arts & Entertainment
David Hockney shares new work as symbol of hope in pandemic
One of the world’s greatest living artists has delivered a much-needed message of hope with a new painting unveiled this week.
David Hockney, 82, shared the new piece on Thursday via Instagram, through Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. A drawing composed on his iPad, the image depicts a cluster of bright yellow daffodils blossoming in the midst of a green field with a grey and barren landscape in the distant background.
The new work is titled, “Do remember they can’t cancel the spring.”
The British artist is a painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer known as one of the key figures in the pop art movement of the 1960s. The iconic imagery he has produced includes a series of three swimming-pool-themed paintings – “The Splash,” “A Little Splash,” and “A Bigger Splash” – which are his most widely-recognized works. A 1972 work, “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures),” set the record for the largest amount paid for an artwork by a living artist when it sold at auction in November 2018 for $90 million – though that record was subsequently broken when Jeff Koons’ “Rabbit” sold at Christie’s in New York for $91 million a few months later.
He has been openly gay throughout his career, exploring his sexuality through artworks such as “We Two Boys Together Clinging,” named after a poem by Walt Whitman.
Hockney has been weathering the coronavirus lockdown at his home in Normandy, the northern French where he relocated from Los Angeles in 2018, jokingly citing the ability to smoke in restaurants as one of the reasons for his transatlantic move, according to The Daily Mail.
He told interviewers, ‘I’d like to just work and paint, and to be able to smoke and eat in a restaurant at the same time. Thank God for Normandy. The French know how to live. They know about pleasure.”
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.
The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.
The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.
The fourth annual Equality Prince William Pride was held at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas, Va. on Saturday, May 17.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride
Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
WorldPride events round-up
Pope Leo XIV: Family based on ‘stable union between a man and a woman’
Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill
