David Hockney, renowned British visual artist and leading pop art figure, has died at the age of 88.
On Friday (June 12), Hockney’s public relations firm, Bolton & Quinn, shared with CBS News a statement reveling that the artist "passed away peacefully at home" in London the day before, just one month shy of his 89th birthday.
"His seven-decade career and prolific oeuvre was characterized 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," the statement said.
Hockney, who was openly gay, was born July 9, 1937, in West Yorkshire, North England. After years of receiving arts education at the Bradford School of Art and Royal College in London, where he graduated with a Gold Medal, by the 1960s, Hackney relocated to Los Angeles and became a prominent member in the Pop Art movement.
By 2018, Hockney would set a financial precedent among living artists after his 1972 painting, "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)," sold at auction house Christie's for $90 million. At the time, Hockney’s work was the most expensive artwork by a living artist sold at auction, being succeeded by Jeff Koons sculpture "Rabbit" for $91 million.
While Serpentine Gallery in London is currently hosting an exhibition of Hockney’s works, plans for future showcases are scheduled for Tate Gallery and Munich Museum.
Hockney is survived by his longtime partner, Jean-Pierre Goncalves de Lima, two brothers and "numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews."
