The creation of this book has depended on the extraordinary generosity of so many people. First and foremost, those who were there and who so kindly responded to my questions: David Hockney; Derek Boshier; Allen Jones; John Craddock; Clarice Rivers; Geoff Reeve; Michael Adams; and George Lois. And of course, none of it would have been possible without the cooperation of Billy Apple – who let me into his story, his work and his archives. My conversations with Billy began almost twenty years ago; his friendship, openness and support over all that time has been unwavering, and a remarkable gift.
Many writers, curators, archivists and family members have provided invaluable help: Billy’s partner Mary Morrison; Neil Parkinson at the Royal College of Art; Rose Jones of The Frank Bowling Archive; George Snyder and Julie Green of David Hockney, Inc; Anne Williamson of The Henry Williamson Society; Sasha Tochilovsky and Laura Mircik-Sellers of The Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design & Typography; Jennifer Hodgson; Alice Butler; Jake Fuller and his family; Luke Lois; and Chris Stephens.
Special thanks go to Christina Barton, a truly great art historian whose exhaustive work on Billy’s art and life has laid the groundwork for the rest of us; to David Joel of The Larry Rivers Foundation, whose enthusiasm and support for this project was there from our very first email exchange and hasn’t stopped since; and to Jeremy Ward, who was so generous in sharing his family history and his recollections of his extraordinary aunt, Ann Quin.
To Creative New Zealand for the much-needed financial support, and to the Michael King Writers Centre for the generous space and time to write.
To Barry Schwabsky, Thomas Crow and Matt Saunders for their immensely useful feedback on early drafts. And to the team at Auckland University Press: Sam Elworthy, for seeing the path ahead; Sophia Broom and Katharina Bauer, for keeping me on it; Jane Parkin, for her sensitivity and attention and for understanding so clearly what I was hoping to achieve; Sarah Ell, for proofreading; and Kalee Jackson, for her incredible book design.
To my friends Nick Jeffs, Awhina Fleming, Travis Murdoch, Noel Ivanoff, Judy Millar, Katharina Grosse, Simon Denny, Steve Toussaint, Eleanor Catton and Mark O’Connell for their company, conversation and morale-boosting brilliance through this whole ordeal. To my parents Neville and Lexie, for picking up James from school all those times I was stuck in an archive, or on a plane, or editing pages.