British artist David Hockney dies at 88

British artist David Hockney, one of the most influential and defining figures in contemporary art whose paintings captured the world in brilliant colour, has died aged 88, his publicist announced on Friday.

Tributes poured in for the 1960s pop art pioneer who established himself as a globally renowned painter and master draughtsman and kept experimenting and exhibiting right up until his death.

“I think I’ve something to say to people — that’s why,” he told the Daily Telegraph in October in his last major interview.

Lauding him as “one of the most important figures in contemporary art in both the 20th and 21st centuries”, his publicist Erica Bolton said he died “peacefully at home” in London on Thursday, a month before his 89th birthday.

His seven-decade career and prolific oeuvre was characterised by his multi-media approach in image making” as well as “a sustained commitment to celebrating and portraying the world around him”, her statement added.

Hockney was acclaimed worldwide.

Britain made him a Companion of Honour in 1997 and earlier this year, he became one of the few non-French citizens to be awarded the highest level of France’s main civilian honour, the legion d’honneur.

Expressing his and Queen Camilla’s sadness, King Charles III called Hockney “a giant of the world of art… whose irrepressible charm, talent and constant innovation will be most sorely missed”.

“David was one of life’s true originals; one who wore his genius as lightly as those beloved yellow Crocs of his that helped brighten Palace occasions,” Charles added in a heartfelt, personally signed tribute on X.

– ‘Bold’ –

The king noted that Hockney’s “dazzling creativity lives on in galleries and museums around the world”.

The Pompidou Centre in Paris — which held landmark Hockney exhibitions in 1999 and 2017 — said he was “creative to the end of his life by constantly renewing his ideas”.

Born the fourth of five children in 1937 in Bradford, northern England, Hockney defied the conventions of post-war Britain, realising when he was young that he was gay and wanted to be an artist.

A conscientious objector who did military service as a hospital orderly, he trained at the Bradford School of Art and then at London’s Royal College.

“His early work demonstrated a bold stylistic range. And even then he was recognised as a master draughtman and a rising star in British art,” the college said in an Instagram tribute.

He remained “a defining voice in art across his lifetime”, it added, praising his “boundless curiosity” and “mastery of colour”.

Hockney captured everything from carefree 1960s California — to where he moved in 1964 — to the bucolic landscapes of his native Yorkshire, telling The Telegraph he was “happiest when I’m painting”.

In 2018, his iconic swimming pool picture, “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” sold for $90.3 million in New York, setting a new auction record for a living artist. He was unseated by Jeff Koons’ “Rabbit” a year later.

His portraits were particularly loved.

“I try to get a likeness,” he told the Telegraph.

“But in the end, I don’t care what the other person thinks of it. It’s what I think of it that counts.”

A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Hockney “one of Britain’s most celebrated artists”.

His vivid, instantly recognisable work influenced generations of artists,” she added.

– Defiant smoker –

Known for experimentation — with print making, photography and stage design alongside painting and drawing — Hockney embraced modern technology.

He utilised iPads and even worked with developers to create custom-made apps, according to a National Portrait Gallery profile.

He also kept showcasing. London’s Serpentine Gallery is currently holding his first exhibition there, featuring new paintings.

“He’s just an amazing titan of British art,” retiree David Whitehead told AFP on Friday when he visited the gallery.

Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson said the art centre would work with the artist’s team to realise two projects planned for next year — pointing out its 2017 Hockney exhibition was the most visited in the institution’s history.

“David’s passing brings to a close an extraordinary body of work characterised by reinvention,” Farquharson said.

According to his publicist, he is survived by his long-time partner Jean-Pierre Goncalves de Lima, two brothers and “numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews”.

Hockney always retained his Yorkshire accent and was also a defiantly lifelong smoker, praising the pleasure it brought him.

“He smoked up to the end,” Bolton said.

AFP