David Hockney Has Died at 88 - Share Your Favourite Work

[Cheugy89]

David Hockney died at his home in London on 11 June 2026, one month short of his 89th birthday. King Charles called him a giant of the world of art and painting, a Yorkshireman through and through. Tracey Emin said he changed the perception of Britishness with the power of art. Grayson Perry observed that when Hockney returned from California he transformed into a sort of poet of the spring. Over seven decades he produced swimming pool paintings, Yorkshire landscapes, Los Angeles portraits, iPad drawings, and stage design work that spanned an entire era of British art.

Hockney was unusual in the art world for being genuinely popular without sacrificing seriousness. His work was in major galleries and on student posters simultaneously. He embraced every new medium that came along, from photography to the Xerox machine to the iPhone and iPad, not as a gimmick but as a genuine continuation of his interest in how we see. Bradford has been paying tribute to their most famous son. The Tate and every major British gallery that holds his work is preparing responses. His estate has said he died peacefully.

What is your favourite Hockney work or period and what did his career mean to you?

[Forge89]

A Bigger Splash is the obvious answer and I make no apology for it. The frozen moment of the water, the absence of the diver, the stillness around the splash. It is one of the greatest paintings of the 20th century and it has not dimmed with familiarity