The Beginning, iIlustrations for Fourteen Poems from C. P. Cavafy,

1966

<p>This print is one of a series of etchings Hockney made showing intimate scenes between men, inspired by the writings of the Egyptiot Greek poet Constantine Cavafy (1863–1933). Since his days at the Royal Academy of Art, Hockney had admired the poet’s vivid, unapologetic evocations of same-sex desire. The poems Hockney chose relate to Alexandria, Egypt, where there was a strong presence of gay men in Cavafy’s time. By 1966 Alexandria was too much changed, so Hockney traveled instead to Beirut to capture scenes from everyday life. On his return to London he translated this new fascination with observed reality into etched form and printed them with printer, collaborator, and friend Maurice Payne.<br></p>