‘A wonderful, wacky woman’: a tribute to Betty Freeman
From our UK edition
David Hockney painted ‘Beverly Hills Housewife’ between l966 and 1967, during an exceptionally happy period of his life. He was thrilled to be living in Los Angeles and was enjoying his first great love affair, with Peter Schlesinger, who loved him back. John Kasmin, his art dealer, came out from London to introduce him to various collectors. One of them was Betty Freeman, who lived at 703 Hillcrest Road, a fairly typical Beverly Hills house. Hockney asked if he could take some polaroids, which became the source for the painting. Hockney and Freeman liked each other from the start and would become lifelong friends.
