British artist David Hockney – one of the most influential figures in contemporary art – has died aged 88.
The West Yorkshire-born painter died peacefully at home on Thursday 11 June, his team confirmed. Hockney was just one month away from his 89th birthday.
His work ranged from portraying the turquoise swimming pools and tanned bodies of LA to the Yorkshire fields of his youth, and he painted portraits of everyone from his family and romantic partners to Mick Jagger and Harry Styles.
One of the most famous works in his swimming pool series was “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)”, which sold for a record-breaking $90m (£70m) at Christie’s auction house in 2018.
As tributes flood in for the artist, read on for the latest following Hockney’s death.
Jenny Eclair leads tributes: ‘The world is a sadder, greyer place without him’
The comedian and actor took to Instagram to pay tribute to Hockney, hailing him as a “true artist”.
“David Hockney has died – I expected him to live forever – which he will,” she said. “He was such an inspiration from his early work right up to the iPad art and his yellow crocs – the world is a sadder, greyer place without him.”
“What a triumphant, important life,” she added.
Lauren Morris12 June 2026 11:30
Hockney on his seminal swimming pool series: ‘Painting moving water was very appealing’
Hockney’s move to Los Angeles in the Sixties resulted in some of the most recognised works of the 20th century – with his depiction of mesmerising turquoise swimming pools and golden sunbathers capturing the city’s dazzling brightness.
The idea of painting moving water in a very slow and careful manner was (and still is) very appealing to me,” he said. “It is a formal problem to represent water, to describe water, because it can be anything – it can be any colour, it’s movable, it has no set visual description.”
His 1972 piece, “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)”, sold for a record-breaking $90m (£70m) in 2018 – making it one of the most expensive works by a living artist ever sold at auction.
It came after his first two pool-related paintings: “The Splash” and “A Bigger Splash”, both in 1967.
Lauren Morris12 June 2026 11:20
David Hockney: ‘The Picasso of our times’
David Hockney, one of the most influential contemporary artists of the 20th and 21st century, died peacefully at home on Thursday (11 June), his representative have said.
His five-decade career has been widely celebrated, with curator Sir Normal Rosenthal telling The Independent last year that he is “the Picasso of our times”.
“When there is a Picasso show at the Tate, there are queues around the block; the same with David. Both really looked, and showed what they saw, and brought joy,” he said.
Lauren Morris12 June 2026 11:06