David Hockney, whose art celebrated sun-drenched Los Angeles, dead at 88
Jessica Gelt and Barbara Isenberg | LA Times | 12th June 2026
Hockney pursued an “unapologetic striving for the rejoicing of the eye“. Avoiding “barren” abstraction, he focused on portraits and landscapes, notably scenes of sunny Los Angeleno hedonism. His preoccupation with life’s “vividness” led Robert Hughes to describe him as “the Cole Porter of modern art”. It brought immense popularity – a 2017 retrospective at Tate was that gallery’s most popular solo show ever. Simon Schama’s poetic take on Hockney’s life is here.