Farewell to David Hockney, the visionary who painted the joy of life. From the masterpieces of Californian Pop Art to his digital works, the British artist who revolutionized the way we see the world has passed away at the age of 88.
The world of contemporary art has lost one of its brightest, most rebellious, and incomparable beacons.
David Hockney passed away peacefully at his home in London at the age of 88. The sad news was announced by his longtime agent, Erica Bolton, who rightfully placed him among the pantheon of the greatest masters of the 20th and 21st centuries.
His passing brings to a close an extraordinary chapter in modern history, leaving behind a vibrant and immense legacy of color that spans over seventy years of artistic exploration and expressive freedom. Born in 1937 in Bradford, Yorkshire, into a working-class family, David Hockney,demonstrated from a young age a boundless curiosity and a complete indifference to labels.
His training at the Royal College of Art, between 1959 and 1962, had already highlighted the nature of his talent: unquestionable academic mastery combined with a deep need for experimentation. The official turning point in his career came with his decision to move to the United States. It was the dazzling light of California that redefined his aesthetic.
As one of the leading figures in figurative painting, the artist developed a personal exploration of color, perspective, and space through works that have become permanent fixtures in the history of contemporary art. The iconic turquoise swimming pools of the West Coast, geometric gardens, and modernist architecture became the subjects of his most celebrated works, which captured the essence of an era. Masterpieces such as “A Bigger Splash” (1967) and “Portrait of an Artist – Pool with Two Figures” (1972) have entered the collective imagination. The latter, sold at auction in 2018 for $90 million, set the all-time record at the time for a work by a living artist. But David Hockney has never rested on his laurels.
His artistic signature has always been constant renewal and relentless exploration. He moved effortlessly from traditional brushes to photography, and over the past fifteen years, he has transformed the screen of an iPad into his favorite palette.
“When I work, I feel like Picasso; I feel like I’m thirty”, he declared in a rare television interview. This vitality led him to create “A Year in Normandy,” a monumental 90-meter digital frieze inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry. In addition to his visual genius, the artist always stood out for his authentic and nonconformist personality: his signature round glasses, blond hair, and extravagant suits made him a truly iconic figure.
A pioneer of civil rights, he lived openly as a gay man from his youth, at a time when homosexuality was still considered a crime in England.
Early works such as “We Two Boys Together Clinging” (1961) addressed the subject with a boldness that caused a scandal in the puritanical society of the time. His anarchic spirit was also reflected in his relationship with institutions. He declined numerous prestigious honors, including the title of “Sir” and the offer to paint an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
It was only in his later years that he accepted the Order of Merit from the Queen, explaining with his characteristic candor that in that case it would simply have been “rude to say no.”
Upon hearing of his passing, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his deep condolences, describing Hockney’s work as “vivid and instantly recognizable, capable of influencing generations of artists.”
His creativity was the focus of the largest exhibition ever dedicated to his work, held in 2025 at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, which he managed to attend despite his health problems. In recent years, despite increasing breathing and hearing difficulties, Hockney divided his time between London and Normandy, continuing to paint for several hours a day with a single great idea in mind: to love life.
The world’s leading cultural institutions, from the Centre Pompidou in Paris to Tate Britain in London, are now preparing to celebrate him with major retrospectives.
David Hockney never stopped looking at the world with wonder. Until his very last breath, he chose to celebrate the joy of living through light and color.
