British artist David Hockney, one of the most influential figures in contemporary art whose paintings captured the world in brilliant colour, has died aged 88, his publicist announced on Friday.

A pioneer in the pop art movement in the 1960s, Hockney (88) established himself as a globally renowned painter and master draughtsman, continuing to paint, experiment and exhibit until his death.

His publicist, Erica Bolton, said he died peacefully at home in London on Thursday, a month before his 89th birthday. She described him as one of the most important figures in contemporary art in both the 20th and 21st centuries.

“His seven-decade career and prolific oeuvre was characterised by his multi-media 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,” Bolton said in a statement.

International acclaim

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

Art historian Richard Morris said on X that Hockney’s achievement was to make serious painting look effortless. “He carried forward one of the most sustained investigations into vision, space and representation by any post-war artist. British art has lost a giant.”

The Pompidou Centre in Paris, with which he collaborated for two landmark exhibitions in 1999 and 2017, said he was creative to the end of his life by constantly renewing his ideas. The works he leaves behind remain “dazzling, alive and eternal”, the centre said.

Early life and career

Born the fourth of five children in 1937 in Bradford, northern England, Hockney defied the conventions of post-war Britain, realising young that he was gay and wanted to be an artist.

A conscientious objector who did military service as a hospital orderly, he trained at the Bradford School of Art and then at London’s Royal College, from which he graduated with a Gold Medal distinction.

The Royal College said his early work demonstrated a bold stylistic range, and even then he was recognised as a master draughtsman and a rising star in British art. He remained a defining voice in art across his lifetime, the college added, praising his boundless curiosity, mastery of colour and embrace of new technologies.

Hockney was one of the seminal talents in a new generation of British artists, capturing everything from carefree 1960s California, where he moved to in 1964, to the bucolic landscapes of his native Yorkshire.

“I’m happiest when I’m painting,” he told the Daily Telegraph in October in his last major interview.

Record-breaking auction

In 2018 his iconic swimming pool picture, “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)”, sold for $90.3 million in New York, setting a new auction record for a living artist. He was unseated by Jeff Koons’ “Rabbit” a year later.

His portraits were particularly beloved. “I try to get a likeness,” he told the Telegraph. “But in the end, I don’t care what the other person thinks of it, it’s what I think of it that counts.”

Known for experimentation with printmaking, photography and stage design alongside painting and drawing, he adopted modern technology as it emerged. He used iPads after their creation and even worked with developers to create custom-made apps, according to a National Portrait Gallery profile.

Legacy and future exhibitions

London’s Serpentine Gallery is currently holding his first exhibition there, which was conceived in close collaboration with the artist and features new paintings by him.

Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson said the institution would work with the artist’s team to realise two projects planned for next year. The plans include Tate Britain again showcasing his seven decades of work and Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall hosting a multimedia installation of his celebrated designs for opera sets.

Farquharson said Hockney’s 2017 exhibition at Tate Britain was the most visited in the institution’s history.

“David’s passing brings to a close an extraordinary body of work characterised by reinvention,” Farquharson said. “He touched so many, with his astonishing talent, his love for art and life, and his profound and unconventional insights. His work continues to influence our culture, far beyond the art world.”

According to his publicist, Hockney is survived by his long-time partner Jean-Pierre Goncalves de Lima, two brothers and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

Hockney always retained his Yorkshire accent and was a lifelong smoker, praising the pleasure it brought him. “He smoked up to the end,” Bolton’s statement noted.