One of the most influential figures of the art world, Hockney was famous for works such as “A Bigger Splash,” depicting modernist architecture and a glinting swimming pool in Los Angeles.
Skip to ContentJune 12, 2026, 6:21 AM EDTLONDON — The iconic British contemporary artist David Hockney has died, his publicist said Friday. He was 88.
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. One of the art world’s most influential figures, Hockney developed an unmistakable style of pop art that captured the modernist architecture and glinting swimming pools of 1960s Los Angeles, where he lived at the time. He “passed away peacefully at home” in London on Thursday, a month short of his 89th birthday, publicist Erica Bolton said in an emailed statement.
He was “one of the most important figures in contemporary art in both the 20th and 21st centuries,” she said, and “one of the most influential and defining figures in contemporary art. ” David Hockney standing in front of his "Portrait of an Artist " in New York in 2017. London Mayor Sadiq Khan called Hockney a “true icon and revolutionary of British art who never stopped reinventing his work.
” Khan said in a statement that the artist had “inspired millions” and “helped me see the beauty and fragility of our natural world — and why it must be protected. ” The art historian Richard Morris said that Hockney’s “huge achievement was to make serious painting look effortless. ” MorrisHockney was born in Bradford, in the northern English region of Yorkshire, in 1937.
He trained at the Bradford School of Art and then the Royal College of Art in London, sparking a seven-decade career in which he “emerged as one of the seminal talents in the new generation of British artists,” the publicist said. He began his career in abstract expressionism, but his work really took off when he moved to California in 1964 and switched styles, adopting a more figurative approach in which he captured real-world scenes albeit heavily stylized.
His work “A Bigger Splash” is one of several he made of swimming pools in the city.
“It would become a defining image of sun-lit, clean-contoured southern California,” the London gallery Tate Modern says of the image. Another of these works, 1972’s “Portrait of an Artist ,” was briefly the most expensive painting by a living artist sold at auction, going for $90 million at Christie’s in New York in 2018. This record was beaten the next year when Jeff Koons’s “Rabbit” sold for $91 million at the same auction house.
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David Hockney, Renowned British Pop Art Pioneer, Dies at 88Publicist Erica Bolton announced that David Hockney passed away peacefully at home on 11 June 2026, one month shy of his 89th birthday. The artist, a major figure in 20th and 21st-century art, was celebrated for his vibrant pop art, iconic swimming pool paintings, and fearless personal authenticity. He is survived by his long-term partner Jean-Pierre Goncalves de Lima and extended family.
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David Hockney, Legendary British Artist, Dies at 88Hockney 'passed away peacefully at home on 11 June,' just one month before his 89th birthday, his publicist has said.
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