The famous British painter and campaigner for smokers’ rights, David Hockney, died on the morning of Friday, June 12, at the age of 88.
Born in 1937 in Bradford, Yorkshire, central England, he was for a long time, until more recently, the greatest living British artist. A smoker since adolescence and claiming it was good for his mental health, David Hockney drew constant inspiration for his work and life from cigarettes, and he resisted the total ban on smoking in Britain before it was enacted in 2009, and more so in 2005, making surprise appearances at events organised by the British smokers’ rights association FOREST, while he spoke out unsuccessfully against state intransigence, frequently publishing articles in the press, in major British newspapers and other publications. He also illustrated and wrote the foreword to the book ‘Unlucky Strike’ by the academic member of the University of Buckingham, John Staddon. His publicist said on Friday morning that David Hockney had passed away peacefully at his home.
Baroness Claire Fox, a member of the House of Lords who works closely with FOREST, said of the great artist’s loss:
We’ve lost one of the greats. Not only as an iconic artist of huge orginality, but also a public figure with the courage to be a dissident. I once had the honour of chairing David Hockney on a panel. Yes, it was about the excessive Nanny statism about smoking. He made an eloquent case for choice & liberty. I was excessively star-struck. He was excessively modest. Ahh. Such a loss.
Simon Clark, chairman of FOREST, paying tribute to the work the great artist had done in the campaign for free smoking, said:
WE ARE so sorry to hear that David Hockney has died. The internationally-acclaimed artist was a guest at several Forest events, including a private dinner in 2004 (which is when we first met him), a drinks party in 2008, and a reception at the House of Commons in 2011. My favourite memory, however, was the day he travelled to Brighton to speak at a fringe meeting organised by Forest at the 2005 Labour Party conference to protest against the proposed smoking ban. The event was chaired by Claire Fox, now Baroness Fox, and panellists included another friend of Forest, musician Joe Jackson. The day began with David appearing on BBC Breakfast (where he waved a piece of paper that read ‘DEATH awaits you even if you do not smoke’) and the Today programme on Radio 4 (during which he famously accused a Labour minister of being “dreary” and “bossy”). A few hours later he arrived in Brighton where we had organised a photo op, multiple interviews with several broadsheets and the Press Association, a TV interview with Andrew Neil, a fringe meeting full of laughter, and, finally, dinner at a Cuban-themed restaurant where we were joined by a journalist from the Sunday Times who had been sent in haste from London to interview the great man. It was, without doubt, the best day of my working life. We were proud and immensely grateful that he supported our campaign against the smoking ban, which he described as ‘the most grotesque piece of social engineering’. He also declared that ‘pubs aren’t health clubs’ and believed that smoking was good for his mental health. David Hockney lived life on his own terms, and what a fabulous and productive life that was. He will be greatly missed by everyone who values individual freedom.
Bring Back Smoking Freedom 