Known for 'A Bigger Splash,' 'Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy' and more, the British painter was called 'a genre unto himself'

David Hockney. [AP/Yonhap]
David Hockney. [AP/Yonhap]

David Hockney, one of Britain's most celebrated modern artists, died Friday at the age of 88.

A spokesperson for Hockney said the artist — "one of the most important figures in 20th- and 21st-century modern art" — died peacefully at his home, about a month before his 89th birthday.

Born July 9, 1937, in Bradford, England, Hockney studied at the Royal College of Art in London and spent many years living in Southern California, becoming an icon of 20th-century art.

He achieved worldwide recognition before turning 30, and his restlessly experimental body of work came to be regarded as a genre in its own right. Ranging freely across portraiture, still life and landscape, he rejected conventional single-point perspective and explored a wide range of media throughout his career.

His best-known works include "A Bigger Splash" and the broader series of Los Angeles swimming pool paintings, as well as "Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy," a portrait of the celebrated fashion designer couple — all marked by bold composition and vivid color in their depictions of people and place.


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