Skip to content

David Hockney's life in pictures: From swimming pools to celebrity portraits

Adam Goldsmithand
Matthew Tucker
News imageAuerelien Meunier/Getty Images Hockney in a green cardigan, blue shirt, and orange tie in front of one of his paintings Auerelien Meunier/Getty Images
A master of colour, Hockney painted everyday subjects including the landscapes around him

David Hockney, who has died aged 88,was one of the most influential artists of the modern era.

Over a prolific seven-decade career, he became famous for the variety, depth and innovation of his artworks, which spanned landscapes of his native Yorkshire, sun-drenched paintings of life in Los Angeles, and iPad portraits of friends and family.

Hockney was lauded for his diverse techniques and embraced digital art in his later years. Below are some examples of his celebrated art and the artist at work.

News imageGetty Images English artist David Hockney working in a studio, circa 1967. Getty Images
Devoted to drawing from an early age, he worked long days in the studio throughout his life
News imageGetty Images Winner of this years 1500 first prize in the sixth John Moores Liverpool Exhibition is thirty-year-old David Hockney with his painting 'Peter Getting out of Nick's Pool'. He is pictured with his painting at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, 21st November 1967Getty Images
Hockney's unique vision was quickly recognised, and he is pictured here in the 1960s with an award-winning painting called Peter Getting Out of Nick's Pool
News imageGetty Images English artist David Hockney in a studio with some of his work, circa 1967. Getty Images
Hockney's appearance may have been flamboyant but his work ethic was phenomenal
News imageGetty Images British and American artists David Hockney (l) and Andy WarholGetty Images
The 1960s were a time of pop art and abstract expressionism, although Hockney steered his own singular path through his paintings
News imageChristopher Furlong/Getty Images David Hockney stands in dark clothing in front of 'A bigger splash 1967', one of his most famous paintingsChristopher Furlong/Getty Images
Emigrating to Los Angeles in the 1960s inspired some of his most famous works, including one called A Bigger Splash
News imageGetty Images Portrait of English artist David Hockney in his Saint Germain studio, Paris, France, 1979. Partially visible behind him a version of his painting, 'My Parents and Myself,'Getty Images
His family was a recurring theme in his paintings, including this one of his parents
News imagePA Media David Hockney stands in brown trousers, a green cardigan in a gallery. His 'still-life' portraits are hung on the orange walls behind him.PA Media
Many of his works were of friends as well as family, such as these life portraits
News imageGetty Images English pop artist, printmaker, stage designer and photographer David Hockney in his Bayswater studio just after Jonathan Cape published 72 of his drawings in book form. 1971Getty Images
In playful mood at his studio in Bayswater, London, in the 1970s
News imageGetty Images Portrait of English painter David Hockney, dressed in a light blue sweatshirt and tan trousers, as he stands in front of a chaise longue in his home, Los Angeles, California, 1987.Getty Images
At his Los Angeles home in the 1980s in front of some of his paintings
News imageGetty Images David Hockney is holding a brown dog and is wearing a blueish green baseball cap and glasses with spiral designs on them. Getty Images
Man and dog - his playful sense of fun is apparent in this photograph
News imageGetty Images British artist David Hockney poses in front of his painting entitled "The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty-eleven)" at the opening of his exhibition David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture in the Royal Academy of Arts on January 16, 2012 in London, England.Getty Images
Hockney created some of his works on a monumental scale, including this scene of spring in Woldgate in Yorkshire
News imageAP British artist David Hockney poses as he unveils his painting 'Bigger Trees Near Water', the largest painting ever shown at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition, London, Friday, May 25, 2007.AP
He took inspiration from everyday scenes, painting what was around him
News imagePA Media David Hockney creating Christmas-themed artwork which is displayed at Battersea Power Station in London. Saturday December 2, 2023.PA Media
He embraced new technology and used it to create works big and small
News imageAFP via Getty Images British painter David Hockney poses at the Orangerie museum in Paris, on October 7, 2021, in front of his painting "A year in Normandy", a 91-meter-long artwork painted during the lockdown in 2020.AFP via Getty Images
This artwork, called A Year In Normandy, was painted during lockdown
News imagePA Media David Hockney sits in a brown suit with a red tie. He's in front of his work entitled Card Players (left) and A Bigger Card Players at the launch of an Exhibition of his work called David Hockney: Painting And Photography at Annely Juda Fine Art in central London.PA Media
Card players were the theme of these paintings at an exhibition in London
News imageGetty Images A general view of the atmosphere at the Gala Opening of "David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)" at Lightroom on February 21, 2023 in London, England.Getty Images
This was the scene at the gala opening in 2023 of an exhibition in London
News imageEPA A person looks at a painting of Harry Styles, who sits in a red and yellow striped jumper and blue jeansEPA
Not all of his work was huge in scale. He was just as happy making iPad paintings of his favourite trees, or intimate portraits such as this one of Harry Styles
News imageAFP via Getty Images David Hockney next to King Charles in 1994. Charles wears a dark suit, while Hockney is dressed in a white blazer, red tie and blue shirt, with black trousers. Behind them is a colourful piece of artAFP via Getty Images
Pictured with the then Prince Charles in 1994. Hockney refused a knighthood but did accept the Order of Merit as he regarded it as a personal gift from Queen Elizabeth II
News imageGetty Images British painter David Hockney poses at the Orangerie museum in Paris, on October 7, 2021Getty Images
Hockney is pictured here in 2021 at an exhibition of his work at the Orangerie museum in Paris