David Hockney’s funeral held in private with just two mourners

Only two people attended David Hockney’s funeral last week – in line with the British artist’s final wishes. The two mourners at the private ceremony were Hockney’s 61-year-old partner, Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima, and his 33-year-old great-nephew, Richard Hockney, a photographer who worked as the artist’s assistant and frequently modelled for him. Both are trustees of the David Hockney Foundation, established by the artist in 2008. When the pioneering painter of The Splash died peacefully at his home on 11 June aged 88, Keir Starmer and King Charles were among those who paid tribute to his “vivid, instantly recognisable” work and “irrepressible charm, talent and constant innovation”. Although Hockney wanted his funeral to be an intimate ceremony, his publicist, Erica Bolton, announced that his life and work would be celebrated in a series of memorial services to be held in places he has lived around the world, including London and Yorkshire. Bolton said: “We have been overwhelmed by your tributes which have meant so much to us and we wanted to thank you. “As we have already received so many inquiries about David Hockney’s funeral arrangements and memorials, we would like to clarify that it was David’s clear wish that his funeral should be attended only by his partner, JP, and his great-nephew Richard, and that their privacy would be respected. “The funeral has already taken place. …