David Hockney: Art's great innovator whose vivid paintings made him a household name

Article excerpt

David Hockney, the Yorkshire-born painter whose luminous pool paintings and vivid American landscapes made him one of the most recognizable artists of the past seven decades, has died at 97. Celebrated for his technical innovation, from his early pop art experiments to his adoption of digital tools, Hockney became a household name by combining meticulous craftsmanship with a distinctive aesthetic sensibility. His work ranged from intimate domestic scenes to sweeping desert vistas, always marked by bold color and psychological depth. Critics and peers routinely called him Britain's greatest living artist, a reputation he maintained through constant reinvention and refusal to rest on past success.