Artist David Hockney dies aged 88

{"text":[[{"start":8.75,"text":"David Hockney, one of the most popular and influential artists of the past century, has died aged 88. "}],[{"start":16.5,"text":"In a statement on Friday, Hockney’s publicist said he “passed away peacefully at home on June 11 2026, one month short of his 89th birthday”."}],[{"start":26.2,"text":"“David Hockney’s enduring legacy reflects his underlying enthusiasm for life, his outstanding sense of humour, his immense generosity, and his investigative curiosity,” the statement added. “He smoked up to the end.”"}],[{"start":39.15,"text":"Born in Bradford in the north of England in 1937, Hockney was lauded for his bold use of colour, thematic innovation and work across different media. His works — which span painting, drawing, photography, stained glass and set design — form the bedrock of major international exhibitions as well as public and private collections."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":63.099999999999994,"text":"After training in Bradford and London, he relocated to Los Angeles in 1964, where he moved away from early experiments in abstract expressionism and towards figuration and produced some of his most acclaimed works, including the celebrated “Swimming Pool” series. "}],[{"start":80.19999999999999,"text":"“Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)”, from 1972 and part of the California series, sold for just over $90mn at Christie’s in New York in 2018, at the time setting a new record for work sold by a living artist at auction. "}],[{"start":96.85,"text":"A life-long smoker and a campaigner against what he called “bossiness”, Hockney spent later periods in Yorkshire and the US before moving to Normandy, France, in 2019, which saw him pursue landscape painting using an Apple iPad. "}],[{"start":111.8,"text":"Three years ago he returned to London, where he kept a studio, and where a show homing in on his time in northern France as well as new works opened at the Serpentine Galleries in March this year. "}],[{"start":122.64999999999999,"text":"A major retrospective is due to be staged at Tate Britain next year, a decade after a Hockney exhibition became the most visited show in the London gallery’s history. "}],[{"start":132.1,"text":"King Charles led tributes to Hockney, describing him as a “giant of the world of art and painting” and “a dear friend and inspiration to so many”."}],[{"start":141.79999999999998,"text":"“David was one of life’s true originals . . . a man whose irrepressible charm, talent and constant innovation will be most sorely missed, but whose dazzling creativity lives on in galleries and museums around the world,” the King said in a statement. "}],[{"start":158.2,"text":"Hockney, who is survived by his longtime partner and companion Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima, was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1997. "}],[{"start":168,"text":"In 2012 he joined the Order of Merit, and earlier this year he was awarded the rank of officer in France’s prestigious Légion d’Honneur."}],[{"start":177.2,"text":"Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain, said Hockney’s death “brings to a close an extraordinary body of work characterised by reinvention”."}],[{"start":186.79999999999998,"text":"“He touched so many, with his astonishing talent, his love of art and life, and his profound and unconventional insights. His work continues to influence our culture far beyond the art world,” he added."}],[{"start":199.95,"text":"Inventor Sir James Dyson, a fellow member of the Order of Merit and graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, said Hockney “was a creative genius” who “inspired every one of us”. "}],[{"start":217.54999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1781318836_6256.mp3"}