David Hockney, the celebrated British artist whose vibrant paintings of California swimming pools and innovative iPad drawings defined contemporary art, has died at the age of 88. His publicist, Erica Bolton, confirmed that Hockney passed away at his home in London on Thursday, just weeks before his 89th birthday.
No cause of death was given. Hockney was a lifelong smoker, and Bolton noted that he smoked until the end, finding pleasure in the habit.
Born in Bradford, England, Hockney spent much of his career in Southern California, where the sun-drenched landscapes and suburban scenes became central motifs in his work. He later returned to Europe, drawing inspiration from the Yorkshire countryside and the fields of Normandy, France.
Over seven decades, he mastered painting, drawing, collage, photography, and digital art, becoming one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed British artists of his generation.
Hockney's distinctive style—characterized by flattened forms, matte acrylic paint, and a dreamlike play of light—made him a standout figure in the 1960s art scene. His early works, such as "We Two Boys Together Clinging" and "Two Men in a Shower," openly celebrated gay relationships at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Britain.
He was out as a gay man long before it was common, and his art often explored erotic themes with tenderness.
His career took off early: two of his drawings were acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and his 1972 painting "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" sold for $90.3 million in 2018, a record for a living artist at the time. Another iconic work, "Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy," was voted the fifth-greatest painting in Britain in a 2005 BBC poll, the only work by a living artist in the top ten.
Beyond painting, Hockney designed sets and costumes for theater and opera, including a celebrated production of "Tristan und Isolde" in Los Angeles. He experimented with photo collages, like "Pearblossom Highway," and later embraced the iPad as a drawing tool, producing works that were exhibited at the Tate Britain, the Pompidou Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 2018, he designed a stained-glass window for Westminster Abbey to honor Queen Elizabeth II's long reign.
During the 2020 coronavirus lockdown, Hockney created joyful iPad drawings of spring in Normandy, with the message "Do remember they can't cancel the spring" displayed in neon at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Art curator Norman Rosenthal called him "the Picasso of our times," noting that his work changed how people see the world.
Hockney suffered a minor stroke in 2012 and experienced increasing deafness, which he said sharpened his visual perception. He never stopped working, stating in 2017, "It's my work that keeps me young." He is survived by his longtime partner Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima, his great-nephew and studio assistant Richard Hockney, his brothers Philip and John, and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.