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Britain’s David Hockney, a giant of contemporary art, dies aged 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…

By Samantha Johnson / June 12, 2026

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 painting, 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.

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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 multimedia approach in image making, an intellectual inquiry into the nature of depiction and perspective, and a sustained commitment to celebrating and portraying the world around him,” her statement added.

British artist David Hockney poses for an exhibition of his new work in London, Britain, in May 2015. Photo: EPA
British artist David Hockney poses for an exhibition of his new work in London, Britain, in May 2015. Photo: EPA

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

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