The Godmother, 2023 by Walton Ford (b. 1960)
“I Don’t Get It” by Robert Crumb, published in Mystic Funnies #1, Alex Wood, 1997.
Pause, 2019 by Rosa Loy (b. 1958)
Portraits of Kafka and His Father, 1957 by José Luis Cuevas (1934–2017)
From Mi pequeño (Mon fiston) by Olivier Schrauwen, Norma Editorial, 2009.
RIP David Hockney, 1937-2026
David Hockney, a prolific giant of the last century, died yesterday at 88. I will leave others with greater expertise to unpack Hockney’s bearing on the (so-called) art world. I do know that people reacted with real emotion to his paintings and drawings. I saw that firsthand on the few occasions I was lucky enough to see a Hockney hanging in a gallery. Below is a slim sample of Hockney’s work, spanning seven decades; it includes a study for his 1973 piece Sun. About ten years ago, I was thrilled to find a large exhibition print of Sun at an estate sale. It’s been hanging on my office wall ever since. I look at it when I feel frustration or anger and it brings me a little ease.
The Knockout, c. 1921 by e.e. cummings (1894–1962)
Flower in a Stream, c. 1989 by David Cloud Berman (1967-2019). Originally published in Caliban #8, 1990.
Untitled (Christian’s Birthday), 2023 by Gerald Lovell (b. 1992)
A page from Inner City Romance #3 by Guy Colwell, Last Gasp, 1977. Reprinted by Fantagraphics, 2015.
A Passion Like No Other, 2012 by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (b. 1977)
Circle Study #10, 1972 by Benny Andrews (1930-2006)
A page from Laid Waste by Julia Gfrörer, Fantagraphics Books, 2016.
Portrait of Man Reading, 1977 by Malick Sidibé (1936-2016)
Manhattan Landscape with Figures, 1968 by Sylvia Sleigh (1916 – 2010)
A panel from The Adventures of Jodelle by Guy Peellaert (art) and Pierre Bartier (script), Le Terrain Vague, 1966. English translation by Richard Seaver, Grove Press, 1967. Reprinted by Fantagraphics, 2013.
Pink Devil (Detail), 1984 by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988)
Biblioklept 