Departures of note

David Hockney was born on 9 July 1937 in Bradford, England, the fourth of five children. He studied at Bradford College of Art and the Royal College of Art, where he became associated with the emerging British pop art movement.

Hockney gained international fame in the 1960s for his vibrant acrylic paintings of Los Angeles swimming pools and his innovative use of perspective. He worked across media as a painter, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, and his 1972 work "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" set a record for a living artist when it sold for $90 million in 2018.

Throughout his career he divided his time between the UK and California, teaching at several American universities and maintaining studios in London, the Hollywood Hills and Malibu. He remained an influential and prolific artist until his death on 11 June 2026 at the age of 88.