Renowned British painter Howard Hodgkin dies at 84

LONDON (AP) - Renowned British artist Howard Hodgkin, whose bold paintings fused abstraction with the glorious beauty of nature, has died. He was 84.

The Tate group of galleries said Hodgkin died peacefully on Thursday at a London hospital.

Born in London in 1932, Hodgkin was evacuated to the United States as a child during World War II. Returning to Britain, he studied at Camberwell School of Art and Bath Academy of Art, where he went on to teach.

His work has been shown in solo exhibitions around the world, including major retrospectives at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and Tate Britain, London.

Many of Hodgkin's bold, colorful works were inspired by the landscapes of India, which he visited often. Tate director Nicholas Serota said Hodgkin's paintings "radiate the emotions of life: love, anger, vanity, beauty and companionship."

"Howard Hodgkin was one of the great artists and colorists of his generation," Serota said.

Hodgkin won the Turner Prize in 1985 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992.

Despite his many honors, he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper last year that he did not consider himself a success.

"It's a very lonely occupation being a painter," he said. "I wouldn't recommend it to anybody.

"Being well-known or having lots of exhibitions has nothing to do with being an artist - those things are just chance."

An exhibition of Hodgkin's portraits opens this month at Britain's National Portrait Gallery.