David Hockney, one of Britain's most beloved artists and a global celebrity, has died peacefully at home in London at the age of 88, his publicist Erica Bolton announced.

Hockney first gained acclaim as a key contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s and is considered one of the most important figures in contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries.

As a child, he loved sitting on the top deck of a double-decker bus. "I always wanted to see more," he said in the 2015 documentary "Hockney."

He tirelessly photographed everyday scenes, friends, houses, and passers-by. He spent decades exploring digital tools, using fax machines, color copiers, iPhones, and iPads for his art.

In 2018, he created a stained-glass window for Westminster Abbey on his iPad. In 2022, he painted a portrait of singer Harry Styles on the same device. "I'm always doing something else," he told The Guardian.

Hockney produced around 2,000 paintings and thousands of photos and sketches. His "Portrait Of An Artist (Pool With Two Figures)" sold for $90.3 million in 2018, a record at auction for a living artist.

He maintained his artistic curiosity until his death. "If you see the world as beautiful, thrilling and mysterious, then you feel quite alive," he once said.

Source: www.dw.com