One of the most influential artists of our time, Briton David Hockney, died at the age of 89

David Hockney at the grand opening of the Bigger & Closer exhibition in London in February 2023. Photo: Getty Images

British artist David Hockney has died at the age of 88, his press secretary Erica Bolton said . According to her, he died at home a month before his 89th birthday.

Hockney remained one of the most influential figures in art for decades, from his participation in the development of Pop Art in the 1960s to large-scale experiments in the 21st century. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, he created a 91-meter work, while continuing to master new formats and technologies.

Hockney in front of his painting A Year in Normandy, a panoramic frieze painted during the Covid lockdown.

Getty Images

In 1997, Hockney became a member of the Order of Companions of Honour, and in 2012 - the Order of Merit. The artist spent a significant part of his life between London and Los Angeles. Both cities became important sources of inspiration for his work.

Hockney was born in Great Britain, but California became one of the main places of his life and work. It is usually associated with two artistic contexts at once: the British London School and American pop art. For both movements, it was important to return to the depiction of man and the recognizable world at a time when post-war art was largely moving into abstraction.

Hockney working in his home studio in Los Angeles in 1966

Getty Images

One of Hockney's most famous works was “Portrait of the Artist” from 1972. In the painting, a man is swimming in a pool while another is watching him from the edge. The second character is the artist Peter Schlesinger, Hockney's former lover. In 2018, the painting was sold at Christie's for $90.3 million.

Hockney is survived by his long-term partner Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima, two brothers, Philip and John, as well as nieces and great-nephews. One of them, Richard, worked as his studio assistant in the last years of the artist’s life.

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