A Collector’s-Eye View: Jordan Schnitzer on David Hockney

Opening Nov. 17 at the Honolulu Museum of Art is David Hockney: Perspective Should Be Reversed, Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. It is the largest survey of prints by the influential British artist ever assembled, and almost all of them are from the collection of Portland, Oregon–based real estate investor and philanthropist Jordan Schnitzer.

The son of a gallerist, Schnitzer bought his first work of art when he was 14 years old. Today he has a collection of more than 20,000 works by 1,500 artists, and he has a special connection to the collection’s 350 works by Hockney, 146 of which appear in the exhibition.

David Hockney, “Perspective Should Be Reversed,” 2014. Photographic drawing printed on paper, mounted on Dibond. Edition of 25. © David Hockney

“I don’t remember as an adult not being inspired by his work,” says Schnitzer. “For more than 50 years I’ve been a David Hockney fan.” He recalls going to LACMA as a high school student and seeing the influential British artist’s painting Mulholland Drive: The Road to the Studio. More than 20 feet wide and bursting with color it had a huge impact on the young man.

“Every artist is a chronicler of our time—their job is to make art that speaks to us, takes us away on a beautiful, aesthetic journey or makes us think. Hockney does this,” says Schnitzer.

“We’ve had portrait artists since time immemorial, but Hockney has a way of breaking up faces in amazing, abstract ways that take me to the heart and soul of the subjects when I look at them,” says Schnitzer. “He does the same thing with landscapes—he somehow magically draws you in so you can hear the raindrops, you can smell the cut grass, you can hear the wind whistling through the trees.”

David Hockney, “Hotel Acatlan: First Day,” 1984. Lithograph. Edition of 70. © David Hockney/Tyler Graphics Ltd. Photo by Richard Schmidt.

In 1997, Schnitzer established the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. The following year he began to assemble a collection of print and multiples expressly to make available for free to museums in diverse communities. So far, the foundation has lent works to 180 exhibitions at 120 museums.

“For me and my staff, it’s an honor to serve these institutions across the country,” says Schnitzer. “I take immeasurable joy knowing Perspective Should Be Reversed is going to Honolulu, giving people who perhaps haven’t had the chance to experience Hockney’s work in person the opportunity. I have a great sense of stewardship, not ownership, of this collection. The art and audience—that is what our program is all about.”

David Hockney: Perspective Should Be Reversed is on view through March 10, 2024.