Summary

  • David Hockney has died at the age of 88, his publicist says

  • He passed away at home on Thursday, she says, "one month short of his 89th birthday"

  • The British artist is one of the most influential of the modern era and was one of the leaders of the 1960s pop art movement - see his life in pictures

  • In 2018, one of his swimming pool paintings, 'Portrait of an Artist', sold for nearly £70 million at auction - a record for a living artist

  • But Hockney was surprised at the public enthusiasm for his work - he had simply followed one rule: "Paint the things you love", writes the BBC's Sam Woodhouse

  • Tributes to the painter are coming in - he's remembered as a "giant" and "witty and sharp", our entertainment reporter writes

Live Reporting

Edited by Cachella Smith and Craig Hoyle

  1. London mayor pays tribute to a 'true icon and revolutionary of British art'

    David Hockney, wearing a chequered suit and flat cap, is seen looking over a balcony at the gala opening of an exhibitionGetty Images

    David Hockney attends the gala opening of 'Bigger & Closer' in London in February 2023

    Mayor of London Sadiq Khan describes Hockney as a "true icon", and a "revolutionary of British art who never stopped reinventing his work".

    In a post on X, Khan highlights Hockney's training at the Royal College of Art in London in the 1960s, and pays tribute to his "blockbuster London retrospectives".

    The mayor describes how Hockey's "vivid paintings of our changing seasons" helped him to "see the beauty and fragility of our natural world".

    "I know his legacy will live on for centuries to come," he adds.

  2. Tate confirms it will go ahead with planned Hockney exhibitions

    Steven McIntosh
    Entertainment reporter

    British artist David Hockney stands by his oil painting 'Bigger Trees Near Warter' on April 7, 2008 in London, England. The painting has been donated to the Tate Britain by the artist.Getty Images

    Hockney pictured with one of his paintings at the Tate Britain in 2008

    More tributes are coming in from the art world for David Hockney, with Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson saying the institution is "greatly saddened" by his death.

    "David was an endlessly inventive artist, with a unique vision of the world," Farquaharson says. "He was always completely and courageously himself, both in his work and in life.

    "He taught us about the joy of looking, seeing things the rest of us failed to notice - his witty and sharp observations a constant presence within his work and in person."

    He adds: "The loss to the art world is immense: David's passing brings to a close an extraordinary body of work characterised by reinvention. He touched so many, with his astonishing talent, his love for art and life, and his profound and unconventional insights."

    Farquharson confirms the Tate will be "working closely with David's team to realise the two projects he was preparing for next year".

    They include a major exhibition at the Tate Britain, and a multimedia installation at the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall.

  3. 'British art has lost a giant'

    Steven McIntosh
    Entertainment reporter

    English artist David Hockney poses for a portrait in the living room of his Hollywood Hills home in April 1991, in Los Angeles, California.Getty Images

    Hockney pictured in his living room in Los Angeles in 1991

    Paying tribute on social media, broadcaster Piers Morgan remembered Hockney as a "wonderful character" and recalled seeing him in London recently.

    "One of Britain’s greatest ever artists, a Yorkshireman to his bootstraps, my neighbour in Kensington (often saw him on local manoeuvres, albeit in a wheelchair more recently) and a wonderful character.

    He added: "Loved his quote: ‘Laugh a lot, it clears the lungs.’"

    Labour MP Chris Bryant said he was "very sad" to hear Hockney had died.

    "The recent exhibition in Paris was one of the most memorable I’ve seen in many years," he added. "So innovative and inspiring.

    "The way he renders shimmering water or night time scenes is amazing. And his line in portraits is perfect."

    Art historian Richard Morris said Hockney's "huge achievement was to make serious painting look effortless".

    "He carried forward one of the most sustained investigations into vision, space and representation by any post-war artist," Morris said.

    "British art has lost a giant."

  4. In Los Angeles, Hockney found a luxurious new way of life

    Sam Woodhouse
    BBC News

    David Hockney is seen looking to camera in a head and shoulders shot. He is peering over his round glasses and has his eyebrows raised.Getty Images

    Hockney's 'A Bigger Splash' captures the moment an unseen diver creates chaos in paradise

    In 1964, Hockney flew to Los Angeles - looking for the perfect light and bronzed torsos he'd seen in American male magazines.

    Upon landing, he saw hundreds of swimming pools glittering in the valleys below him. They promised a carefree existence of affluence, leisure and sexual freedom.

    Britain had only just abandoned rationing; in California, swimming pools weren't luxuries - just a way of life.

    Hockney was entranced. He ditched his British oil paints in favour of bright, Californian acrylics but retained his Bradford accent - which the Americans adored.

    The swimming pools themselves - with glorious weather and naked male bodies - became Hockney's most famous theme.

    He had found his Paradise.

  5. Hockney was still creating new works aged 87

    David Hockney talks to Katie Razzall about his biggest-ever exhibition in Paris aged 87

    After deciding to be an artist aged 11, Hockney became one of the most successful and influential artists of his generation, and was still creating new works at 87.

    Happiest when making "joyful" art, and always innovating with his iPad, his works sold for millions.

    Before his biggest-ever show opened in Paris last year, Hockney spoke to Katie Razzall about growing old, a recent visit from the King, and his two big loves - smoking and painting.

  6. Hockney became famous for his figurative and experimental work

    David Hockney poses with one of his paintings in Paris in 2017Getty Images

    David Hockney poses with one of his paintings in Paris in 2017

    David Hockney, known for his figurative work, economy of line, and exploration of light and space, is considered one of Britain's most influential contemporary artists.

    Throughout a career spanning seven decades, Hockney experimented with painting, drawing, printmarking, watercolours and various other forms of art - including embracing technology by drawing on an iPad.

    Hockney moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s, a move which inspired some of his most famous works, including swimming pool scenes such as 'A Bigger Splash'.

    In 2018, his work 'Portrait of an Artist' sold for $90m (£70m) at auction, setting a then-record for a living artist.

    His work has been presented in art institutions around the world, including the Musuem of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, Tate Britain in London, and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.

  7. Hockney's career was one full of honours

    Sam Woodhouse
    BBC News

    David Hockney, wearing a grey suit, shaking the hand of Queen Elizabeth II, who is wearing a pink outfit.Getty Images

    In a long career, David Hockney won every honour.

    He turned down as many as he could.

    In 1990, he refused a knighthood and was furious to discover he'd become a Companion of Honour.

    The story goes that someone opened the letter and accepted on his behalf.

    He did, however, accept the Order of Merit, the most prestigious award for high achievement. Believing it to be the personal gift of Queen Elizabeth II, Hockney felt it ungracious to decline.

    But there was one tribute he did enjoy.

    In 2007, a party was held at Tate Britain to celebrate Hockney's 70th birthday. After dinner, it was announced that the smoke alarms would be turned off for 10 minutes to allow Britain's Greatest Living Artist a cigarette.

    It was the kind of honour plain 'Mr' Hockney did appreciate. And one which would not have been granted to anybody else.

  8. Hockney in pictures: An influential career spanning decades

    From his contribution to the pop art movement in the 1960s, to painting a 91-metre work during the Covid pandemic, David Hockney was a majorly influential figure in the art world.

    Here are some pictures from across the decades:

    A black and white photo of Hockney painting kneelig on the ground his home studio in Los Angeles in 1966Getty Images

    Hockney painting in his home studio in Los Angeles in 1966

    Hockey stands in front of a painting with two men by his sideGetty Images

    Hockney pictured in front of his work, 'Santa Monica Boulevard', in 1980

    Hockney stands in front of a collage of portraitsGetty Images

    Hockney's "Great Wall" of portraits in his Los Angeles studio - pictured here in 2001

    Hockney stands in front of his 'A year in Normandie' paintingGetty Images

    Hockney in front of his painting 'A year in Normandie', a panoramic frieze painted during the Covid lockdown

  9. Hockney was 'star student' at art school - but did things his own way

    Sam Woodhouse
    BBC News

    Hockney, pictured at work in his studio in the 1960s with a paint brush in his hand, in a black and white imageGetty Images

    Hockney, pictured at work in the 1960s, spent long hours in the studio and was often haunted by the feeling that he wasn't getting enough done

    Hockney studied at the Royal College of Art in London - but very much did things his own way.

    His classmate, the American artist RB Kitaj, told him to ignore everyone else and simply paint things he loved. "It was the best advice I ever had," he said.

    What interested him was politics, literature and exploring his homosexuality. So one portrait showed himself in an act of love with the American poet, Walt Whitman.

    Hockney was the college's star student but still gloriously pig-headed. David refused to write the one essay required to graduate, and so failed his finals.

    The resulting outcry forced the Royal College to back down. It gave him his degree and even awarded him its prestigious Gold Medal.

  10. Hockney leaves behind a long-term partner and two brothers

    David Hockney is survived by his partner Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima.

    He also leaves behind two brothers - Phillip and John - as well as a number of nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

    Hockney's publicist, Erica Bolton, specifically mentions his great-nephew Richard, who acted as his studio assistant towards the end of his life.

  11. Hockney's early art was influenced by growing up in wartime Britain

    David Hockney was born on 9 July 1937.

    His father, Kenneth, was a conscientious objector who detested social injustice, nuclear weapons and smoking in equal measure.

    His mother, Laura, was the backbone of the family: strong-willed and devoutly Methodist.

    David was one five children; during bombing raids, they hid under the stairs at their home in Bradford clutching bibles. In 1940, one explosion flattened the street.

    The wartime shortage of paper restricted his early artistic efforts to drawing on the kitchen floor and hymn books in church.

  12. Hockney's legacy reflects his 'enthusiasm for life' - publicist

    King Charles III talks with Mr David HockneyWPA Pool/Getty Images

    We can now bring you some more from Hockney's publicist, who describes how his "enduring legacy reflects his underlying enthusiasm for life".

    Erica Bolton notes some of the honours he received throughout his career, including being appointed by Queen Elizabeth II to the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1997 and to the Order of Merit in 2012.

    She also mentions the periods of time he spent living in London and in Los Angeles - the scenes from which inspired a number of his works.

    Bolton adds that Hockney is "considered one of the most influential and defining figures in contemporary art".

  13. David Hockney: 'A genius in practically every medium'

    Sam Woodhouse
    BBC News

    David Hockney pictured in a check jacket in front of one of his paintingsGetty Images

    David Hockney, who has died aged 88, was Britain's favourite artist - and a man of trenchant views, expressed in the broadest of Yorkshire vowels.

    A genius in practically every medium, he worked with paint, photographs and iPads. He did etchings, lithographs, even stained glass windows - equally at home working with the grandeur of opera design and the intimacy of pen and ink.

    A peroxide Bradford blond with round glasses and cheese-cutter hat, he set the art world alight in the 1960s, and packed out art galleries more than half a century later.

    In 2018, one of his swimming pool paintings sold for nearly £70 million at auction - a record for a living artist. But Hockney was surprised at the public enthusiasm for his work.

    He had simply followed one rule: "Paint the things you love".

  14. Hockney 'passed away peacefully at home' - publicist

    We can now share this statement from David Hockney's publicist, Erica Bolton:

    "The celebrated British artist David Hockney, one of the most important figures in contemporary art in both the 20th and 21st centuries, passed away peacefully at home on 11 June 2026, one month short of his 89th birthday."

  15. David Hockney dies age 88
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    Influential artist David Hockney has died at age 88, his publicist says.

    This is a breaking story - we will bring you more shortly.