David Hockney has passed away aged 88
Legendary British artist David Hockney has died.
David Hockney has died at the age of 88.
The British artist, who hailed from Bradford, West Yorkshire, passed away at his home on Thursday (11.06.29), just weeks before his 89th birthday, it has been confirmed.
The news was shared in a statement which read: “The celebrated British artist David Hockney, one of the most important figures in contemporary art in both the 20th and 21st centuries, passed away peacefully at home on 11 June 2026, one month short of his 89th birthday.”
The revoluntionary artist worked in mediums including paint, photography and even iPads and turned his talents to etchings, lithographs and stained glass windows through his lengthy career.
He was born in 1937 and single-mindedly devoted to his art from a young age eventually winning a place at the Royal College of Art in London. However, despite being the establishment's star student, he refused to write the one essay he needed to in order to graduate and so failed his finals, but a backlash forced the college to back down and he was given both his degree and its prestigious Gold Medal.
He left the UK for Los Angeles in 1964, where he swapped his oil paints in favour of bright acrylics, and made a name for himself with his swimming pool paintings, with one selling for almost £70 million at auction back in 2018, and pictures of the buildings around him, using his art to express his homosexuality, which was still illegal at the time.
