One of David Hockney’s first forays into etching, Myself and My Heroes is a significant early work created whilst Hockney was at the Royal College of Art. The print features a self-portrait of the young artist alongside two of his personal heroes: Walt Whitman and Mahatma Gandhi. As the title and the bold text across the top of the composition suggests, both figures were central to Hockney’s passions at the time: poetry and pacifism. The etching includes many further textual elements, including inscriptions that make clear the qualities Hockney admired in his heroes. On Whitman, a line of his poetry – “for the dear love of comrades” – is inscribed, highlighting his pacifist sentiment and his promotion of universal love. On Gandhi, the words “vegetarian as well” celebrate Gandhi’s promotion of vegetarianism as well as hinting at his many other accolades. Next to the figure of Hockney it simply says “I am 23 years old and wear glasses”. Perhaps the artist felt at the time that he did not have achievements to note in comparison to Whitman and Gandhi. In hindsight, however, this deeply personal work is especially endearing considering Hockney's vast achievements throughout his long career which have led to he himself becoming countless people’s hero.
In Myself and My Heroes, Hockney combined drypoint and etching techniques, which allowed him to achieve a variety of lines – from soft, subtle lines to more pronounced, deeper cuts – achieving a sketch-like quality. When Hockney made this print at the Royal College, students were responsible for purchasing their own supplies. This led Hockney, who had spent too much money on paints and canvases, to take advantage of the college’s free printmaking materials and try his hand at etching. This pragmatic decision led to the creation of Myself and My Heroes, which combines his deep-rooted personal convictions with his artistic expression in a medium he would continue to explore and master throughout his career.
