British Pop Art Master David Hockney Dies at 88

David Hockney, the celebrated British artist renowned for his vibrant use of color and significant contributions to Pop Art, has passed away at the age of 88. His publicist confirmed his peaceful death at his London home on Tuesday.

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He passed away peacefully yesterday at his London home.

Hockney was a towering figure in the contemporary art scene, recognized as one of the most influential and important artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. As a key figure in the 1960s Pop Art movement, he established himself as a globally recognized painter and master draftsman. Throughout his prolific career, spanning seven decades, Hockney continuously engaged with art-making, exploring multimedia approaches, and delving into the nature of depiction and perspective.

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He was one of the most important figures in contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Art historians and institutions have widely mourned his loss. Richard Morris, an art historian, lauded Hockney's ability to make serious painting appear effortless and noted his sustained exploration of visual, spatial, and formal elements. The Centre Pompidou in Paris, which hosted two of Hockney's landmark exhibitions, hailed him as "undoubtedly one of the heavyweights of contemporary art," whose works remain "dazzling, alive and eternal."

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His great achievement was making serious painting look effortless.

Born in West Yorkshire, England, Hockney studied at the Bradford School of Art and later the Royal College of Art in London. His impact on the art market was significant, with his 2018 painting "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" selling for $90.3 million, setting a record for the most expensive artwork by a living artist at the time. He was also an early adopter of digital art, utilizing iPads for creation since their introduction in 2010.

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He was one of the artists who most persistently and deeply explored the visual, the spatial and the formal among post-war artists.