British artist Jamie Reid, whose distinctive designs for the covers of several Sex Pistols records made them instant art classics, has died at the age of 76, his gallerist said on Wednesday.

Announcing his death, John Marchant, a long-time collaborator who represents Reid's archive, told AFP he had left a "huge legacy".

His work, he said, had "entered the cultural landscape".

One of Reid's best-known works was the 1977 single cover of God Save the Queen. It used cut-outs of newspaper headlines to spell out the name of the group and the song's title across an image of Queen Elizabeth II, covering her eyes and mouth.

Another, for the album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, also released in 1977, used a similar technique on yellow and pink backgrounds.

"We sadly announce the passing of Jamie MacGregor Reid," a statement released by the John Marchant Gallery said, which noted he died on Tuesday.

"Artist, iconoclast, anarchist, punk, hippie, rebel and romantic. Jamie leaves behind a beloved daughter Rowan a granddaughter Rose, and an enormous legacy," it added.

Reid's works became emblematic of the punk movement and now grace the walls of some of the world's major art institutions including Tate Britain and New York's Museum of Modern art. – AFP