David Hockney/SCREENSHOT/BBC
David Hockney has died at the age of 88, his publicist says, just shy of his 89th birthday.
Hockney's essence was joy, writes BBC culture editor Katie Razzall. He taught us to celebrate the beauty of being alive - and his works live on
The British artist is one of the most influential of the modern era and he was one of the leaders of the 1960s pop art movement
In 2018, one of his swimming pool paintings, 'Portrait of an Artist', sold for nearly £70 million at auction - a record for a living artist
Hockney's depictions of gay domestic life came when homosexual relationships were still criminalised - making it "nothing short of revolutionary", our LGBT and identities reporter notes
Britain's much-loved painter who used art to embrace life
David Hockney used his life to craft a visual language that was unmistakably his own.
The Bradford-born man rose to become one of Britain's favourite artists, and helped spearhead the 1960s pop art movement - using wartime Britain, California's vibrant lifestyle, and iPad paintings to become a master across mediums. Our earlier post collates some of his most notable works.
He has been celebrated as a "true titan of British art" by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, and praised for his "vivid, instantly recognisable work" by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
From Yorkshire to Europe to the Hollywood Hills, Hockney's globetrotting meant his work reached far and wide. We set out some of the key milestones from across his life.
"I want my art to be joyful," Hockney told our culture editor Katie Razzall in an interview last year.
His artistic legacy will continue, with the Tate Britain in London working closely with his team to finalise the two projects he was preparing to showcase next year.
The Bradford boy who changed modern art
David Hockney had deep roots to the West Yorkshire city of Bradford.
Simon Hinchliffe, the principal of Bradford Grammar School, where Hockney studied from 1948 to 1953, says he was one of the school's most influential alumni.
"We hold David's contribution to the world of art and the way we see the world in high regard," Hinchliffe says.
"He was an incredible figure, he will be deeply missed. His legacy will be lasting - of that I'm sure."
Meanwhile, Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin says "words alone don't do David justice".
"His work, those pioneering pieces that burst onto the scene with vivid colour, changed the trajectory of modern art," she writes on X.
