The Observer issue no. 12,236: 'Our English Picasso' @Williamboyd29 on David Hockney Including: A 12-page pullout tribute to Hockney's life and art Plus: Queen's lady-in-waiting Raducanu in Observer Sport A manifesto for childhood in @ObsNewReview The Ghost at the Feast by @XAMGreenwood in @ObsMagazine Pick up a copy today, available nationwide. Subscribe to get a copy of The Observer delivered right to your door every week.

Hockney: a life observed David Hockney 9.7.37 - 11.6.26 In our 12-page tribute to #DavidHockney, William Boyd writes about the 'English Picasso' Plus: @LauraCummingArt: 'He never stopped being a prodigy' @TimAdamsWrites on interviewing Hockney @Will_Gompertz collates his 8 best paintings The time I painted him by Brenda Zlamany @evanmoffitt on the California years David Hockney: the 1979 Observer article that shook the art world Pick up your copy on newsstands today, and read all the coverage online. Photography by Jane Bown/Observer Picture Library

Early hours and early promise: Scotland get the party started A 2am local kick-off time can’t dim the nation’s enthusiasm for its first World Cup win in 30 years, finds @_JessHayden as she joins the celebrations bit.ly/4xuaf3q

David Hockney: the Bradford boy whose love for LA spread around the world From Mullholland Drive to A Bigger Splash, the artist’s paintings of his adopted home became as emblematic of Los Angeles as the Hollywood sign, writes @evanmoffitt bit.ly/3S6xP6s

AI anxiety is fast becoming a political problem, reports @paticlarke Growing fears are ‘dangerous for government’ as more and more people – particularly women – realise the tech bros’ creation is not being built for them bit.ly/4fKQtKJ

Brenda Zlamany: ‘My last painting of Hockney was as Whistler’s Mother. It’s become a goodbye’ The New York-based painter recalls her long friendship with the late artist, and how she came to create her final canvas of him bit.ly/4v6B643

When Harry met Harry: the rise of #HarryStyles’s top tribute act Sean McNicholas went viral mimicking the star’s moves – now he’s packing out venues and winning fans of his own, reports @lilymayaisaacs bit.ly/4uxS2iI

Whither Sarah Ferguson? Traces of her once-big business ambitions offer no clue, finds @JonUngoedThomas The disgraced former Duchess of York has kept a low profile since reports of her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, who encouraged her plans bit.ly/49Yw5Cj

SpaceX’s $2.1tn valuation tests the limits of moonshot capitalism Elon Musk’s SpaceX has achieved a record-breaking IPO, but questions remain over investors’ connection to reality, reports @barneymac bit.ly/4geq4VS

Trump deal with Iran has ‘never been closer’, says Tehran bit.ly/3QC5B2S

“The wider issues thrown up by the case should concern even those who oppose the activities of Palestine Action.” My @ObserverUK column: observer.co.uk/news/opinion-…

Ten years after my wife, Jo Cox, was murdered, I believe our country is in peril, writes @MrBrendanCox If we really believe we have more in common than that which divides us, we must tackle the social cohesion emergency that is menacing democracy bit.ly/3RYSTvB

Squeaky Burnham time: it’s too close for comfort for Labour in Makerfield The man who would be PM appears to have a lead in byelection polls, but does he have what it takes to hold onto it, asks @CeriThomas01 bit.ly/4g3rqD1

‘Violence in these communities is seen as entertainment’: how the far right stoked the Belfast riots Burnt cars, torched houses and masked mobs bring back painful memories, writes @rosielanners. Yet still the likes of Elon Musk and Tommy Robinson fan the flames bit.ly/4xIdiW6

Black market peptides turn fitness fanatics into chemical guinea pigs Health experts are warning that the boom in unregulated drugs fuelled by the ‘looksmaxxing’ craze could have fatal consequences, report Madeleine Parr and Stephen Armstrong bit.ly/4xutYQF

Ever young in spirit, Hockney never quite stopped being a new prodigy From My Parents and A Bigger Splash to his caustic character studies and iPad inventiveness, the late artist delighted in pushing creative boundaries right to the end, writes @LauraCummingArt bit.ly/4fKBSiC

Starmer stands accused of ‘not trying his best’. It’s just not true The PM’s loss of two key ministers last week was a huge blow, but his diligence on defence spending shows claims about his dedication are unfounded, writes @TomBaldwin66 bit.ly/4vM861x

Hockney was no less than our English Picasso, writes @Williamboyd29 For our cover story, Boyd shares how he once commissioned the genius-level artist to design a magazine cover. Hockney ignored all his feedback – and it was absolutely perfect bit.ly/4ooHbGt

Santander’s boss wants to scrap the bank levy but it just needs a tweak bit.ly/43BOuBf

@frankcottrell_b introduces our manifesto for childhood in today’s @observeruk: ‘We’ve treated a generation of children now at school with carelessness’ observer.co.uk/culture/inter…

Operation Fubar: even Keir Starmer’s team players are abandoning the field of battle bit.ly/4osxQh3