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David Hockney shares new work as symbol of hope in pandemic

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“Do remember they can’t cancel the spring” by David Hockney (Image via Instagram)

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.”

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PHOTOS: Shenandoah Valley Pride

LGBTQ celebration held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va.

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A scene from the 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

The 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival was held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 20.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

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PHOTOS: Walk and 5K to End HIV

Whitman-Walker Health holds 40th annual event

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A scene from the 2026 Walk and 5K to End HIV on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Whitman-Walker Health held the 40th annual Walk and 5K to End HIV at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Sept. 19.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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PHOTOS: Wanda Alston Foundation Fall Reception

LGBTQ youth services organization honors Robert White, Japer Bowles, Washington Capitals

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Rayceen Pendarvis was the emcee at the Wanda Alston Foundation 2026 Fall Reception. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Wanda Alston Foundation held its Fall Reception at the Penthouse Rooftop at The Wharf on Friday, Sept. 18. Honorees included D.C. Councilmember Robert White, Director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs Japer Bowles, and the Washington Capitals. Rayceen Pendarvis served as the emcee and entertainment was provided by the Thomas Circle Singers.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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