Artist David Hockney, one of modern art’s most influential figures, dies aged 88

British artist David Hockney, one of the most influential figures in contemporary art, has died at age 88, his publicist said on Friday (12 June). He died peacefully at his home in London one month before his 89th birthday.

Hockney was widely regarded as one of the defining artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, gaining international recognition as a leading figure in the Pop Art movement of the 1960s.

Known for his vivid use of colour and distinctive depictions of domestic and landscape scenes, his work spanned painting, photography, collage and digital art.

Life and career

Born in Bradford, England, in 1937, Hockney developed an early fascination with perspective and observation, later describing how he loved sitting at the front of a double-decker bus to see the world unfold around him.

He went on to produce thousands of works over his career, including paintings, sketches and photographic compositions. His subjects ranged from California swimming pools to Yorkshire landscapes and portraits of friends and cultural figures.

Hockney also embraced new technology throughout his life, becoming one of the first major artists to experiment with digital tools.

He used fax machines, colour photocopiers, iPhones and iPads as artistic instruments, continuing to produce work well into his later years.

Timeless art

In 2018, his painting Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) sold for $90.3 million, setting a record at the time for the most expensive work by a living artist sold at auction.

Hockney’s influence extended beyond traditional art circles, with major retrospectives in institutions such as the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris in 2025 cementing his status as a defining voice in modern visual culture.

Despite his global fame, Hockney often described himself as a working artist rather than a celebrity, maintaining a daily routine of drawing and painting, driven by a lifelong fascination with light, space and perception.

He lived between the United States and the United Kingdom for much of his career, forming connections with major cultural figures including Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg.

He remained active and creatively engaged until his death, continuing to explore new mediums and approaches to seeing the world.

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