British artist David Hockney has died at the age of 88, his publicist confirmed on Friday and reported by the BBC.
Born in 1937 in Bradford, northern England, Hockney grew up in a modest family and came of age in a post-war Britain where being openly gay remained deeply taboo.
He later recalled that, from an early age, he wanted two things: to be an artist and to live openly as himself.
After studying at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London, Hockney quickly emerged as one of Britain's most promising young artists. His move to California in the 1960s proved transformative.
Drawn by the sunshine, modern architecture and relaxed atmosphere of Los Angeles, he produced some of the defining images of his career.
Among them was A Bigger Splash, a work that has become one of the most iconic paintings of the 20th century.
His fascination with swimming pools, domestic scenes and intimate portraits helped establish him as one of the leading figures of pop art, though he resisted being confined to any single movement or style.
Throughout his life, Hockney remained restless and curious. He experimented with photography in the 1980s, creating large composite images from hundreds of separate photographs.
Later he embraced digital technologies, becoming one of the first major artists to use tablets and smartphones as creative tools.
Queen Mathilde and King Philippe of Belgium visit the 'David Hockney' exhibition at BOZAR in Brussels, 7 October 2021. The British artist was widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in 20th-century British art. Credit: Belga / Laurie Dieffembacq.
Well into his seventies and eighties, he continued producing ambitious new work using the iPad, introducing digital art to audiences who might once have viewed technology with scepticism.
His influence extended far beyond galleries and museums. Hockney's colourful spectacles, distinctive style and optimistic outlook made him one of Britain's most recognisable cultural figures.
Despite becoming one of the world's most commercially successful artists, he repeatedly described himself as a worker rather than a celebrity.
One of his paintings, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), sold for $90.3 million in 2018, briefly making it the most expensive work by a living artist ever sold at auction.
In 2025, the largest exhibition ever devoted to Hockney opened at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, celebrating a career spanning more than 6 decades and countless artistic transformations.
Asked by AFP in 2021 where his joy came from, Hockney offered an answer that perhaps best summed up both the man and his work.
"Nature is the source of everything," he said. "My joy comes from the way I look at the world."
For generations of admirers, that way of looking transformed ordinary scenes into some of the most vibrant images in contemporary art.
No further details regarding the circumstances of his death were immediately released.
