Paul McCartney has paid tribute to his friend, the great British artist David Hockney, saying he will miss his “fabulous personality”.
Bradford native Hockney passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday (June 11) at the age of 88 after a career that saw him lauded as one of the most influential and celebrated artists of the 20th century. A defining figure in British art, his works included A Bigger Splash and Portrait Of An Artist (Pool With Two Figures).
One of the friends he made over the years was Beatles legend McCartney, who has shared a personal tribute to him on his Instagram page.
Alongside a photo of the two arm in arm, McCartney wrote: “David Hockney was a friend and an incredible painter. I knew him during the 1960s and kept a friendship going till he died on Thursday, the 11th of June. He was very clever witty and fun to be with.”
“His paintings often gave off a feeling of great joy,” he added. “Nancy and I enjoyed visiting his studios in California where we took a drive along Mulholland Drive which he made famous all over again in his sensational paintings.”
“Or in his London studio. The rooms were filled with paintings. Often some of the most recent pictures that he had done. He would talk about them and his very particular views on art. He felt that it was important to see correctly. He wasn’t a great fan of perspective and was always involved in inventing new ways to view the world. His many paintings, drawings, films and other media like iPad drawing he took readily to and mastered.”
McCartney continued: “He was a serious Chain Smoker and believed it was everyone’s right to smoke like the days when he and I had been brought up in smoke filled rooms. We visited him once in Bridlington, Yorkshire. He met us at the train station and drove us to his house in a smoke filled car.
“We will miss his fabulous personality, his laconic wit and his erudite views on how to look at the world,” he concluded. “Rest in peace, David. We love you.”
McCartney also features in a tribute that Jools Holland has shared, posting a photo of himself, McCartney, Hockney, Elton John and Tom Hanks all sitting together at Hockney’s Bigger & Closer exhibition.
“Very sad to hear we have lost David Hockney,” Holland wrote. “At the time he told me a critic had said why is Hockney doing landscapes? That’s dead art. Hockney said, ‘landscapes are nature and nature doesn’t f***ing die’. I send all sympathy to his loved ones.”
Harry Styles also paid his tribute during his opening show at Wembley Stadium last night (June 12). The singer – who was painted by Hockney for a piece that was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 – shared a quote from the artist on the big screens at the show.
“What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing,” the quote read. “You wouldn’t be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought.”
