David Hockney, the British-born artist whose vibrant paintings helped shape the global perception of Los Angeles, died Thursday at the age of 88. Hockney first arrived in Los Angeles in January 1964 at age 26, drawn by images of California he had encountered through Hollywood films and the gay underground culture. His early experiences of the city, including its distinctive sunlight, architecture, and social freedoms, deeply influenced his work and played a significant role in defining the visual identity of L.A. in the 20th century.

Before visiting Los Angeles, Hockney’s vision of the city was shaped largely by the California portrayed in cinema and magazines like Physique Pictorial, which showcased highly stylized images of the male form and sunshine. He was also influenced by John Rechy’s 1963 novel "City of Night," which explores the gay nightlife of downtown L.A. This mixture of popular culture and literary insight contributed to Hockney’s fascination with the city’s promise of openness and its emerging cultural landscape.

Hockney’s early works, such as “Beverly Hills Housewife” (1966), marked a stylistic shift to realism that captured the unique qualities of Los Angeles life. His iconic painting “A Bigger Splash” (1967) and the portrait “Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy” (1968) exemplify this period. The latter, which sold for $44.3 million in 2022, was among the first celebrated portrayals of a gay couple in art. Hockney’s intimate ties to the city’s gay community and his relationship with artist Peter Schlesinger, whom he met while teaching at UCLA, were recurring themes in his work.

Though enamored with Los Angeles from his first visit, Hockney did not settle there until 1978. He moved into a Hollywood Hills home in 1979, integrating the city’s landscape into his art through depictions of its pools, palm trees, and natural surroundings. In the early 1980s, he created large-scale works inspired by the hills and winding roads of the area, employing a more abstract style that reflected his deepening connection to the locale.

Over the decades, Hockney cultivated a close network of friends and supporters in Los Angeles, including patrons, designers, gallery owners, and film producers. Despite later turning his artistic focus toward landscapes of his native Yorkshire in the 2000s, the city remained a lifelong source of inspiration and refuge, particularly during his later years when health concerns limited his travel.

Experts note that Hockney’s influence extended beyond his art, helping to establish Los Angeles as a distinct cultural entity at a time when the city lacked a definitive artistic identity. His work communicated the openness and expansiveness of L.A. in a way that resonated widely, breaking new ground for artists of his generation. Hockney’s legacy endures not only in his paintings but in the lasting image of Los Angeles he crafted for the world.