Iconic British artist David Hockney has died
David Hockney, one of the most famous contemporary British artists, has died at the age of 88. The artist left a significant mark on the world of art, and one of his works sold at auction in 2018 for a record $90 million.
"Renowned British artist David Hockney, one of the most important figures in contemporary art of both the 20th and 21st centuries, passed away peacefully at home on June 11, 2026, before reaching his 89th birthday," the statement reads.
David Hockney, whose career spanned more than seven decades, became one of the world’s most popular artists thanks to his joyful, optimistic vision.
He created some of the most memorable images of the 20th and 21st centuries—his painting "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" (Pool with Two Figures)" was sold at auction in New York for $90 million in 2018.
At the time, this amount broke the record for the most expensive work sold by a living artist.
Growing up in the industrial city of Bradford, Hockney was captivated by the light and freedoms of 1960s California, and later made the state his primary home for 40 years.
Early in his career, when abstraction was the dominant trend in the avant-garde, he defied this trend by painting figuratively, often in bright colors with a primitivist style.
In later years, when some critics viewed his fascination with landscape painting as a step backward, he made it clear that he “didn’t care.”
"Hockney’s iconic round glasses, Yorkshire tones, and bleached blond hair—which in later years was replaced by a series of flat caps— — his image was almost as distinctive and familiar as his paintings,” notes Sky News.
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