"I see the world as very beautiful," said David Hockney. The British artist is pictured above in May 1978. Evening Standard / Getty Images David Hockney believed painting could change the world; in the midst of all our miseries, he said, art lets us see the world as beautiful, thrilling, mysterious. Hockney, one of the best-known contemporary artists, has died at home, age 88, his publicist said Friday.