David Hockney: Biography, Artworks & Personal Life

Few artists have turned a swimming pool into a cultural icon the way David Hockney has. Born in Bradford in 1937, he has been painting, photographing, and designing stages for over six decades, and this article examines the man behind the canvas — his relationships, his hearing loss, and the works that made him a household name.

Born: 9 July 1937 ·
Nationality: British ·
Art Movement: Pop Art ·
Notable Work: A Bigger Splash

All four cards share a single thread: Hockney’s life and work are woven together by personal openness, technical innovation, and a steady visual language.

This table maps out Hockney’s core biographical data — a baseline for the more detailed story that follows.

Who Was David Hockney’s Lover?

Hockney’s personal life has been as vivid as his palette. He had long-term relationships with men, including Peter Schlesinger and John Fitzherbert. According to biographical accounts, he never married and had no children (Wikipedia).

Who was David Hockney’s last partner?

Reportedly, John Fitzherbert was Hockney’s partner in later years, though the exact timeline is not publicly documented. Hockney’s openness about his sexuality made him a key figure in LGBTQ+ representation in the art world.

Did David Hockney have children?

No. Hockney has never had children, a fact confirmed by his biographers.

The implication: Hockney’s personal relationships directly influenced his art — his double portraits and pool scenes often feature friends and lovers.

What Condition Does David Hockney Have?

Hockney has lived with hearing loss since birth and uses hearing aids. He has said in interviews that he can hear well with his aids, and the condition never stopped his career (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

What disability does David Hockney have?

He has a congenital hearing impairment. In a 2012 interview with The Guardian, Hockney said: “I can hear very well with my hearing aids.”

Why this matters: Hockney’s disability has been a quiet part of his public persona, rarely framed as a limitation — a rare example of a major artist working openly with a sensory condition.

What Is David Hockney’s Most Famous Piece of Work?

His most famous painting is A Bigger Splash (1967), an iconic image of a California swimming pool. The most expensive work is Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972), which sold at Christie’s New York in November 2018 for $90.3 million — a record for a living artist at the time (BBC News).

What is David Hockney’s most expensive painting?

Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) holds the record at $90,312,496 (including fees) according to Christie’s. The 10-minute bidding battle between two telephone bidders made headlines globally (CNBC).

What is David Hockney’s most valuable painting?

At auction, that same painting remains his highest valuation. Other works like Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott (1969) sold for £37.6 million in 2019 (Christie’s), and Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy (1968) realized $44.3 million at Christie’s in 2025 (Artnet News).

The pattern: Hockney’s pool paintings dominate both critical acclaim and market value — a rare alignment of popular taste and auction demand.

Where Was David Hockney Born?

David Hockney was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England on 9 July 1937 (Encyclopaedia Britannica). He grew up in a working-class family and showed early artistic talent.

How old is David Hockney?

As of 2025, Hockney is 88 years old. He was born in 1937.

What is David Hockney’s nationality?

He is British. Despite living in the United States for many years, he retains his UK citizenship.

What this means: Hockney’s Yorkshire roots appear in his landscapes and his distinct northern English perspective, even when painting California pools.

What Art Movement Is David Hockney Associated With?

Hockney is widely associated with Pop Art, though his work resists easy categorization. He is known for vibrant colors, stylized realism, and a playful use of perspective (National Galleries of Scotland).

What is David Hockney’s signature style?

His style blends figurative and modernist elements: bright, flat areas of color, sharply defined shadows, and compositions that often reference photography. He championed figurative painting when abstraction was dominant (Wikipedia).

What techniques does David Hockney use?

Hockney works in oil, acrylic, photography, and digital media. In the 2010s, he created numerous works on iPad and iPhone, using the Brushes app to capture landscapes and portraits. His photo collages, called “joiners,” combine multiple Polaroid shots into single composite images (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

The trade-off: Hockney’s constant technical experimentation sometimes puzzles purists, but it keeps his work fresh and relevant across generations.

Timeline

• 1937 – Born in Bradford, England.
• 1959–1962 – Attends Royal College of Art, London.
• 1964 – Moves to Los Angeles; begins pool paintings.
• 1967 – Paints A Bigger Splash.
• 1972 – Paints Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures).
• 1990s – Explores photography and photo collages.
• 2010s – Creates art on iPad and iPhone.
• 2023 – Still active; major retrospective exhibitions.

Signal: Hockney’s career spans seven decades, each period marked by a new medium — from traditional oil to digital tablets — without losing his signature visual voice.

In His Own Words and Others’

“I can hear very well with my hearing aids.”

– David Hockney, in a Guardian interview (2012)

“It is the perfect pop art image.”

– Art critic Jonathan Jones, writing about A Bigger Splash in The Guardian

For the art world, the choice is clear: Hockney’s legacy is already cemented, but his ongoing output means the conversation is not over. For British museums, the race to secure major works for permanent collections is urgent — or risk watching them cross the Atlantic for good.

Frequently asked questions