Over two years from 1994, David Hockney painted a series of 40 paintings of his charming chocolate dachshunds, Stanley and Boodgie, which would eventually form the thrust of his ‘Dog Days’ exhibition. Setting up easels at different heights around his Montcalm Avenue home in the Hollywood Hills, California, US, he captured the diminutive pair ‘in a way only the owner could’, recording intimate moments as they napped and played.
‘I make no apologies for the apparent subject matter,’ Hockney asserted. ‘These two dear little creatures are my friends.’ His portraits captured their distinct personalities. ‘Stanley will follow me everywhere, unless it is raining, or someone is dispensing food. Boodgie is more of a loner,’ he noted in 1995. ‘They live very comfortably, occasionally going to the beach, and have only two interests as far as I can see: food and love, in that order.’
'They’re like little people to me'
David Hockney, on his dogs Stanley and Boodgie
Hockney had been introduced to dachshunds by his friend and former partner Ian Falconer, who owned a dachsie called Heinz. He encouraged him to adopt Stanley and later, Boodgie. However, it was the death of his dear friend, Henry Geldzahler, curator and art critic, in 1994, that became the catalyst for the artist as he searched for a way to channel his grief. ‘I felt such a loss of love I wanted to deal with it in some way. I realised I was painting my best friends, Stanley and Boodgie. They sleep with me: I’m always with them here… They’re like little people to me. The subject wasn’t dogs, but my love of the little creatures.’
This feature originally appeared in the June 25, 2025 issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
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