David Hockney's A History of Pictures for Children: From Cave Paintings to Computer Drawings

I really enjoyed the insightful comments of the writers. A great overview with enough juicy tidbits to keep any age interested and curious. The chapter on marks is the perfect starting place for a family art project or game. Plenty of opportunities for discussion beyond the text and just an all around fun read. Plus the pictures of the narrators and pets makes a sort of Where's Waldo game for the youngest set. Thanks David Hockney we love your pictures.

This is a treasure, especially if you can share it aloud and then talk about what's just been read. I'm loving it even before I give it to my grandaughter for her birthday. It helps those of us who do not think of ourselves as artists to begin to change the exclusion and open how we "see" and therefore how we can talk about it with others, especially the children in our lives, who have not yet learned they are not artists.

I got this for my daughter, who is a fifth grade teacher, for her classroom. However, I loved reading it myself! It is very informative without being over the top information. It gave interesting facts for those of us who enjoy art but don't spend hours gazing at a painting! I would recommend it for older children as well as adults.

So sorry. I just found this delightful book. Wrote a previous review that it had not been delivered. My bad.

The book is great yet it arrived a little bit wrinkled .

My 9-year-old daughter and I loved this book. We read a chapter each night which gave us time to talk about and explore each chapter fully. Of course, the history of art is a broad topic, too broad in some ways, so the authors had to make some decisions. Rather than present the history of art solely as a timeline, the authors instead focused on different aspects of art. The chapters are: 1. Thinking about Pictures. 2. Making Marks. 3. Light and Shadows. 4. Watch this Space. 5. Mirrors and Reflections. 6. Painting and Photography. 7. Moving Pictures. 8. The Story Goes On. The end notes include a timeline of inventions in art that is fabulous. The first chapter asks the reader to think about why we make pictures and includes a number of famous pieces of art including work from Picasso, cave drawings from France, Egyptian wall painting, Jan Van Eyck, Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, Walt Disney productions, Utagawa Hiroshige, and yes, David Hockney. Each chapter seemed to lead us to explore more. We spent time reading about Van Eyck and his other works and learning more about the various theories surrounding his painting, The Arnolfini Portrait. The second chapter asks what makes an interesting mark and includes another cave drawing, Muqi, Rembrandt Van Rijn, Michelangelo, William-Adolph’s Bouguereau, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Raoul Dufy, and David Hockney. My daughter and I wanted to learn more about Muqi and his painting, Six Persimmons from the 13th century. We found so much information about this painting, even an entire lecture about this painting alone online from a UC Berkeley professor! The third chapter asks us to consider what is a shadow exactly. This chapter includesworks such as cave paintings from Argentina, Thomas Holloway, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Clara Peters, Caravaggio, and David Hockney. I was not familiar with the amazing work of Tim Noble and Sue Webster. My daughter and I were captivated. We spent a lot of time looking at their work on the internet and showing other family members. We even looked up to see if we could find a museum to see their work; sadly nothing near us! The fourth chapter asks, “How do artists set the scene?” and includes works from Andrei Rublev, Paolo Ucello, Jan Van Eyck, Wang Hui, Huang Kung-Wang, Leonardo Da Vinci, Edward Hopper, Juan Gris, and David Hockney. The fifth chapter asks, “How do artists play with light?” and includes an Eretia vase, Parmigianino, Rene Magritte, Diego Velazquez, Claude Monet, and David Hockney. The sixth chapter explores what tools artists use. The artists included were Johannes Vermeer, Wenceslaus Hollar, Jean-Auguste-Dominique, William Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Andre-Adolphe-Eugene Disderi, Edgar Degas, Maurice Denis, Henri Cartier-Besson, Hannah Hoch, and David Hockney. The seventh chapter asks, “Can pictures really move?” This chapter includes work by Eadweard Muybridge, Georges Melies, Walt Disney productions, Charlie Chaplin, Victor Fleming, and David Hockney. The eight chapter poses the question of what is next for pictures. Hockney includes his art in all of the chapters except the last. I saw that one reviewer took great exception to this and called Hockney out on thinking that his works were all “masterpieces.” I saw it differently. I believe Hockney included his work to show us how these important questions about art are still being addressed and answered by artists today. I found the book to be richer and more inciteful by Hockney sharing his work with us. It added to the bonefides of the book to show us that “real” artists think about these questions too. We loved it! I highly recommend this for families with budding artists or art lovers. I do know know if children would enjoy reading this on their own or not because we read this book together and it was a supreme hit!

This is a very interesting and helpful explanation of the basics of drawing and painting. The illustrations are whimsical and creative and the text very easy to read with a personal touch by Hockney and Gayford. I found it very enjoyable to read as an adult, and it would be illuminating for kids, though I'm not sure at what age they would be interested.

Not at all what I expected as it does not go into sufficient detail about any of the promoted aspects and certainly would not be of interest to any children I know. Here’s what I wrote on Goodreads: “Profoundly moving and enlightening... “??? I read a number of reviews on Goodreads and Amazon before I purchased this, but am greatly disappointed. I thought it would provide insights not discussed in other art books for children. Wrong! -Mixing one of the author’s work in among classics is just wrong, unless you want to compare yourself to them... -showing a man smoking a cigarette as an important piece of art is just wrong. -saying that the book explains art up to and including computerized work without once mentioning the word ‘digital’ or explaining how digital images are composed is just wrong. -I work in an elementary school and cannot think of a single person (child or adult) who would be interested in this book. Saying it is for children is just wrong. -using a fancy font that children with their not-fully developed eyesight and tolerance for fancy fonts and then saying it is for children is just wrong. They don’t like reading squishy text! I’ve only been in education since 1980, so maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. -using “What’s next for pictures” in the last chapter heading and then not answering is also, well, wrong! I will say two positive points: 1. It explains why silent movie actors used heavy eyeliner (even my silent-movie loving husband did not know); and 2. It makes an important point about the multitude of pictures available today and how the more pics there are, the less time spent examining them . I’ve wondered myself what will happen to the millions/billions of digital image files in the future, and the authors make a quick stab, but could have gone into this issue much deeper. This was a minimalist refresher in art history for me, but I can’t see anything here ‘for children.’

Not just my daughter, we all like to read the book! A good one

This is an exceptional book. Best of all perhaps, it’s easy to read aloud, without a bunch of cheesy captions or what have you. Despite being written with two authors’ voices, it’s easy to distinguish which is writing and what their subject is, and it’s an easy arc for kids to follow.

EXCELLENT PRODUCT, VERY HAPPY!

Just received this book, I have 'Secret Knowledge' by David Hockney which is almost the much heavier complete analysis of visual art history. This children's book follows many of the same themes, from the earliest mark making, through representation, use of the camera obcsura, composition, viewpoint, photography, impressionism etc It does this in a light engaging way through a conversation between Hockney and his friend. Their are some real art historical reproductions but also kid friendly illustrations and diagrams. The pitch is about 9yrs up for solo use but guided by an adult even children over 5yrs can access the ideas and examples given. It deals with some hefty and interesting ideals but in a clear and easily understood approach.

A very informative book with lots of stunning images and explanations. A really important introduction to the value of art in our lives and its significance throughout the ages.