Richard Hamilton (artist)
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Richard William Hamilton CH (24 February 1922 – 13 September 2011) was an English painter and
collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...
artist. His 1955 exhibition ''Man, Machine and Motion'' (
Hatton Gallery The Hatton Gallery is Newcastle University's art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is based in the University's Fine Art Building. The Hatton Gallery briefly closed in February 2016 for a £3.8 million redevelopment and reopened i ...
,
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
) and his 1956 collage '' Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?'', produced for the '' This Is Tomorrow'' exhibition of the Independent Group in London, are considered by critics and historians to be among the earliest works of pop art.Livingstone, M., (1990), ''Pop Art: A Continuing History'', New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. A major retrospective of his work was at Tate Modern until May 2014.


Early life

Hamilton was born in
Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...
, London on 24 February 1922. Despite having left school with no formal qualifications, he managed to gain employment as an apprentice working at an electrical components firm, where he discovered an ability for draughtsmanship and began to do painting at evening classes at
Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of t ...
and at the
Westminster School of Art The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London. History The Westminster School of Art was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Royal Architectural Museum. H. M. Bateman described ...
. In 1938, he enrolled in the
Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
. After spending World War II working as a technical draftsman, he re-enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools but was expelled in 1946 on grounds of "not profiting from the instruction". Loss of his student status forced Hamilton to carry out
National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...
. After two years at the
Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
,
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
, Hamilton began exhibiting his work at the
Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...
(ICA), where he also produced posters and leaflets. He taught at the
Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...
from 1952 until 1966.


1950s–1960s

Hamilton's early work was much influenced by
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson CB FRS FRSE (2 May 1860 – 21 June 1948) was a Scottish biologist, mathematician and classics scholar. He was a pioneer of mathematical and theoretical biology, travelled on expeditions to the Bering Strait an ...
's 1917 text ''On Growth and Form''. In 1951, Hamilton staged an exhibition called ''Growth and Form'' at the
Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...
in London. A pioneering form of installation art, it featured scientific models, diagrams and photographs presented as a unified artwork. In 1952, at the first Independent Group meeting, held at the ICA, Hamilton was introduced to
Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1 ...
's seminal presentation of collages produced in the late 1940s and early 1950s that are now considered to be the first standard bearers of Pop Art. Also in 1952, he was introduced to the ''Green Box'' notes of
Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...
through
Roland Penrose Sir Roland Algernon Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984) was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom. During the Second World W ...
, whom Hamilton had met at the ICA. At the ICA, Hamilton was responsible for the design and installation of a number of exhibitions including one on
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
and ''The Wonder and the Horror of the Human Head'' that was curated by Penrose. It was also through Penrose that Hamilton met
Victor Pasmore Edwin John Victor Pasmore, CH, CBE (3 December 190823 January 1998) was a British artist. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Pasmore was born in Chelsham, Surrey, on 3 December 1908. He ...
who gave him a teaching post in the Fine Art Department of Durham University at
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, which lasted until 1966. Among the students Hamilton tutored at Newcastle in this period were
Rita Donagh Rita Donagh (born 30 April 1939) is a British artist, known for her realistic paintings and painstaking draughtsmanship. Early life and education Rita Donagh began taking classes in life drawing at Bilston College of Further Education in 1954. Sh ...
, Mark Lancaster,
Tim Head Tim Head (born 1946) is a British artist. Biography Born in London, Head studied at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne from 1965 to 1969, where his teachers included Richard Hamilton and Ian Stephenson. His contemporary students included Roxy ...
,
Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...
founder
Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...
and Ferry's visual collaborator Nicholas de Ville. Hamilton's influence can be found in the visual styling and approach of Roxy Music. He described Ferry as "his greatest creation". Ferry repaid the compliment, naming him in 2010 as the living person he most admired, saying "he greatly influenced my ways of seeing art and the world". Hamilton gave a 1959 lecture, "Glorious Technicolor, Breathtaking Cinemascope and Stereophonic Sound", a phrase taken from a
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...
lyric in the 1957 musical '' Silk Stockings''. In that lecture, which sported a pop soundtrack and the demonstration of an early
Polaroid Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polar ...
camera, Hamilton deconstructed the technology of cinema to explain how it helped to create Hollywood’s allure. He further developed that theme in the early 1960s with a series of paintings inspired by film stills and publicity shots. The post at the ICA also afforded Hamilton the time to further his research on Duchamp, which resulted in the 1960 publication of a typographic version of Duchamp's ''Green Box'', which comprised Duchamp's original notes for the design and construction of his famous work '' The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even'', also known as ''The Large Glass''. Hamilton's 1955 exhibition of paintings at the
Hanover Gallery The Hanover Gallery was an art gallery in London. It was opened in June 1948 by the German art expert Erica Brausen and financier and art collector Arthur Jeffress at 32A St. George's Street, W1, and closed on 31 March 1973. It was named afte ...
were all in some form a homage to Duchamp. In the same year Hamilton organized the exhibition ''Man Machine Motion'' at the
Hatton Gallery The Hatton Gallery is Newcastle University's art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is based in the University's Fine Art Building. The Hatton Gallery briefly closed in February 2016 for a £3.8 million redevelopment and reopened i ...
in the Fine Art Department at
Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...
. Designed to look more like an advertising display than a conventional art exhibition the show prefigured Hamilton's contribution to the '' This Is Tomorrow'' exhibition in London, at the
Whitechapel Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...
the following year. '' Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?'' was created in 1956 for the catalogue of ''This Is Tomorrow'', where it was reproduced in black and white and also used in posters for the exhibit."This is tomorrow"
, thisistomorrow2.com (scroll to "image 027TT-1956.jpg"). Retrieved 27 August 2008.
The collage depicts a muscle-man provocatively holding a Tootsie Pop and a woman with large, bare breasts wearing a lampshade hat, surrounded by emblems of 1950s affluence from a vacuum cleaner to a large canned ham. ''Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?'' is widely acknowledged as one of the first pieces of pop art. Hamilton's written definition of what "pop" is laid the ground for the whole international movement. Hamilton's definition of Pop Art from a letter to
Alison and Peter Smithson Alison Margaret Smithson (22 June 1928 – 14 August 1993) and Peter Denham Smithson (18 September 1923 – 3 March 2003) were English architects who together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalism ...
dated 16 January 1957 was: "Pop Art is: popular, transient, expendable, low-cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, and Big Business", stressing its everyday, commonplace values.Richard Hamilton
Museum of Modern Art, New York.
He thus created collages incorporating advertisements from mass-circulation newspapers and magazines. The success of ''This Is Tomorrow'' secured Hamilton further teaching assignments in particular at the
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...
from 1957 to 1961, where he promoted
David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...
and Peter Blake. During this period Hamilton was also very active in the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...
and produced a work parodying the then leader of the Labour Party Hugh Gaitskell for rejecting a policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament. In the early 1960s he received a grant from the Arts Council to investigate the condition of the
Kurt Schwitters Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including dadaism, constructivism, surrealism, poetry, sound, pain ...
Merzbau in
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
. The research eventually resulted in Hamilton organising the preservation of the work by relocating it to the Hatton Gallery in
Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...
Fine Art Department. In his works, Hamilton frequently incorporated the materials of consumer society. ''Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?'' (1956) used American magazines, brought back from the United States by John McHale and Magda Cordell. Hamilton also incorporated pieces of plastic directly into his collages. In ''Pin-up'' (1961), a mixed-media work exploring the female nude, sculpted plastic was used for the breasts of the nude figure. ''$he'' (1959–1961) incorporated a plastic holographic eye, given to Hamilton by Herbert Ohl. The use of plastics has created significant challenges in conserving Hamilton's works. As early as 1964, when ''Pin-up'' and ''$he'' were loaned for a solo show of Hamilton's works at the Hanover Gallery in London, they were found to be cracked, with plastic lifting off the supporting surfaces. Hamilton experimented with materials, including plywood, acrylic glass, and plasticizers, and worked closely with
conservators In certain areas of England, Conservators are statutory bodies which manage areas of countryside for the use of the public. Establishment, Role and Powers Conservators are bodies corporate generally established, and granted their powers, by a ...
to repair his works and develop better techniques for incorporating and conserving plastics in artworks. In 1962 his first wife Terry was killed in a car accident. In part to recover from her loss, in 1963 Hamilton travelled for the first time to the United States for a retrospective of the works of
Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...
at the
Pasadena Art Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton ...
,Benjamin Genocchio (29 February 2004)
From the Beginning, a Master of Pop Art
''
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''.
where, as well as meeting other leading pop artists, he was befriended by Duchamp. Arising from this Hamilton curated the first British retrospective of Duchamp's work, and his familiarity with ''The Green Box'' enabled Hamilton to make copies of ''The Large Glass'' and other glass works too fragile to travel. The exhibition was shown at the
Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
in 1966. In 1968, Hamilton appeared in a
Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...
film titled ''
Greetings Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between indiv ...
'' where Hamilton portrays a pop artist showing a "Blow Up" image. The film was
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
's first motion picture, and the first film in the United States to appeal an
X rating An X rating is a rating used in various countries to classify films that have content deemed suitable only for adults. It is used when the violent or sexual content of a film is considered to be potentially disturbing to general audiences. Aust ...
. From the mid-1960s, Hamilton was represented by Robert Fraser and even produced a series of prints, ''Swingeing London'', based on Fraser's arrest, along with
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
, for possession of
drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...
. This association with the 1960s pop music scene continued as Hamilton became friends with
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
resulting in him producing the cover design and poster collage for the
Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
' ''
White Album White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
''. In 1969, Hamilton appeared in a documentary by filmmaker James Scott, in which he discussed the ''Swingeing London'' series and his preoccupation with mass media through a selection of his own work.


1970s–2011

During the 1970s, Richard Hamilton enjoyed international acclaim with a number of major exhibitions being organised of his work. Hamilton had found a new companion in painter
Rita Donagh Rita Donagh (born 30 April 1939) is a British artist, known for her realistic paintings and painstaking draughtsmanship. Early life and education Rita Donagh began taking classes in life drawing at Bilston College of Further Education in 1954. Sh ...
. Together they set about converting North End, a farm in the
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
countryside, into a home and studios. "By 1970, always fascinated by new technology, Hamilton was redirecting advances in product design into fine art, with the backing of xartcollection, Zurich, a young company that pioneered the production of multiples with the aim of bringing art to a wider audience." Hamilton realised a series of projects that blurred the boundaries between artwork and product design including a painting that incorporated a state-of-the-art radio receiver and the casing of a
Dataindustrier AB Dataindustrier AB (literal translation: computer industries shareholding company) or DIAB was a Swedish computer engineering and manufacturing firm, founded in 1970 by Lars Karlsson and active in the 1970s through 1990s. The company's first produc ...
computer. During the 1980s Hamilton again voyaged into industrial design and designed two computer exteriors: OHIO computer prototype (for a Swedish firm named ''Isotron'', 1984) and DIAB DS-101 (for
Dataindustrier AB Dataindustrier AB (literal translation: computer industries shareholding company) or DIAB was a Swedish computer engineering and manufacturing firm, founded in 1970 by Lars Karlsson and active in the 1970s through 1990s. The company's first produc ...
, 1986). As part of a television project, 1987 BBC series Painting with Light Hamilton was introduced to the
Quantel Paintbox The Quantel Paintbox was a dedicated computer graphics workstation for composition of broadcast television video and graphics. Produced by the British production equipment manufacturer Quantel (which, via a series of mergers, is now part of Grass Va ...
and has since used this or similar devices to produce and modify his work. From the late 1970s Hamilton’s activity was concentrated largely on investigations of printmaking processes, often in unusual and complex combinations. In 1977–78 Hamilton undertook a series of collaborations with the artist
Dieter Roth Dieter Roth (April 21, 1930 – June 5, 1998) was a Swiss artist best known for his artist's books, editioned prints, sculptures, and works made of found materials, including rotting food stuffs. He was also known as Dieter Rot and Diter Rot. ...
that also blurred the definitions of the artist as sole author of their work. In 1992, Richard Hamilton was commissioned by the BBC to recreate his famous art piece, ''Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?'' but only this time, as to what he felt the average household would be like during the 1990s. Instead of the male body builder, he used an accountant working at a desk. Instead of the female icon, he used a world class female body builder. In 1981 Hamilton began work on a trilogy of paintings based on the conflict in Northern Ireland after watching a television documentary about the "Blanket" protest organized by
IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
prisoners in
Long Kesh Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...
Prison, officially known as The Maze. ''The citizen'' (1981–1983) shows IRA prisoner Hugh Rooney portrayed as Jesus, with long flowing hair and a beard. Republican prisoners had refused to wear prison uniforms, claiming that they were political prisoners. Prison officers refused to let "the blanket protesters" use the toilets unless they wore prison uniforms. The republican prisoners refused, and instead smeared the excrement on the wall of their cells. Hamilton explained (in the catalogue to his
Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
exhibition, 1992), that he saw the image of "the blanket man as a public relations contrivance of enormous efficacy. It had the moral conviction of a religious icon and the persuasiveness of the advertising man's dream soap commercial - yet it was a present reality". ''The subject'' (1988–89) shows an Orangeman, a member of an order dedicated to preserve Unionism in Northern Ireland. ''The state'' (1993) shows a British soldier on a "foot" patrol on a street. ''The citizen'' was shown as part of "A Cellular Maze", a 1983 joint exhibition with Donagh. From the late 1940s Richard Hamilton was engaged with a project to produce a suite of illustrations for James Joyce's ''
Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...
''. In 2002, the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
staged an exhibition of Hamilton's illustrations of James Joyce's Ulysses, entitled ''Imaging Ulysses''. A book of Hamilton's illustrations was published simultaneously, with text by Stephen Coppel. In the book, Hamilton explained that the idea of illustrating this complex, experimental novel occurred to him when he was doing his
National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...
in 1947. His first preliminary sketches were made while at the
Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
, and he continued to refine and re-work the images over the next 50 years. Hamilton felt his re-working of the illustrations in many different media had produced a visual effect analogous to Joyce's verbal techniques. The ''Ulysses'' illustrations were subsequently exhibited at the
Irish Museum of Modern Art The Irish Museum of Modern Art ( ga, Áras Nua-Ealaíne na hÉireann) also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art. Located in Kilmainham, Dublin, the Museum pr ...
(in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
) and the
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located at ...
(in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
). The British Museum exhibition coincided with both the 80th anniversary of the publication of Joyce's novel, and Richard Hamilton's 80th birthday. Hamilton died on 13 September 2011, at the age of 89. His work ''Le chef d’oeuvre inconnu – a painting in three parts'', unfinished at his death, comprises a trio of large inkjet prints composed from
Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...
images to visualize the moment of crisis in Balzac’s novel '' The Unknown Masterpiece''.Jackie Wullschlager (11 October 2012)
Richard Hamilton: The Late Works, National Gallery, London
''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
''.


Exhibitions

The first exhibition of Hamilton's paintings was shown at the Hanover Gallery, London, in 1955. In 1993 Hamilton represented Great Britain at the
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
and was awarded the
Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...
. Major retrospective exhibitions have been organized by the
Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
, London, 1970 and 1992,
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...
, New York, 1973, MACBA, Barcelona,
Museum Ludwig Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lich ...
, Cologne, 2003, and the
Neue Nationalgalerie The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) at the Kulturforum is a museum for modern art in Berlin, with its main focus on the early 20th century. It is part of the National Gallery of the Berlin State Museums. The museum building and its ...
, Berlin, 1974. Some of the group exhibitions Hamilton participated in include:
Documenta ''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultura ...
4, Kassel, 1968;
São Paulo Art Biennial The São Paulo Art Biennial (Portuguese: ''Bienal de São Paulo'') was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennale (in existence since 1895), which serves as ...
, 1989;
Documenta ''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultura ...
X, Kassel 1997; Gwangju Biennale, 2004; and Shanghai Biennale, 2006. In 2010, the
Serpentine Gallery The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Central London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Gallery, ...
presented Hamilton’s ‘Modern Moral Matters’, an exhibition focusing on his political and protest works which were shown previously in 2008 at
Inverleith House Inverleith House is a historic house, now within the Royal Botanic Garden, in the suburb of Inverleith, in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Inverleith House was designed in 1773 by David Henderson and built for James Rocheid in 1774. In about 182 ...
, Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. For the season 2001/2002 in the
Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...
Richard Hamilton designed the large scale picture (176 sqm) "Retard en Fer – Delay in Iron" as part of the exhibition series "Safety Curtain", conceived by
museum in progress museum in progress is a private art association based in Vienna. The non-profit art initiative was created in 1990 by Kathrin Messner and Josef Ortner († 2009) with the aim to develop new presentation forms for contemporary art. The projects ...
."Safety Curtain 2001/2002"
museum in progress museum in progress is a private art association based in Vienna. The non-profit art initiative was created in 1990 by Kathrin Messner and Josef Ortner († 2009) with the aim to develop new presentation forms for contemporary art. The projects ...
, Vienna.
Just the week prior to his death the artist was working with the
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía The ''Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía'' ("Queen Sofía National Museum Art Centre"; MNCARS) is Spain's national museum of 20th-century art. The museum was officially inaugurated on September 10, 1992, and is named for Queen Sofía. It ...
, Madrid, to prepare a major museum retrospective of his oeuvre that had already been scheduled to open first at
Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...
, London, on 13 February 2014, travelling later to Madrid where it will open on 24 June 2014. In 2011
Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane The Hugh Lane Gallery, officially Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane and originally the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, is an art museum operated by Dublin City Council and its subsidiary, the Hugh Lane Gallery Trust. It is in Charlemont House ( ...
showed a joint retrospective exhibition of both Hamilton's and
Rita Donagh Rita Donagh (born 30 April 1939) is a British artist, known for her realistic paintings and painstaking draughtsmanship. Early life and education Rita Donagh began taking classes in life drawing at Bilston College of Further Education in 1954. Sh ...
's work called "Civil Rights etc." That same year, the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...
showcased Hamilton's work in ''Richard Hamilton: Pop Art Pioneer, 1922-2011''. The
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
’s "Richard Hamilton: The Late Works" opened in 2012. A major retrospective at
Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...
in 2014 was "the first retrospective to encompass the full scope of Hamilton’s work, from his early exhibition designs of the 1950s to his final paintings of 2011. heexhibition explores his relationship to design, painting, photography and television, as well as his engagement and collaborations with other artists".


Collections

The Tate Gallery has a comprehensive collection of Hamilton's work from across his career. In 1996, the
Kunstmuseum Winterthur The Kunst Museum Winterthur (English: The Winterthur Museum of Art) is an art museum in Winterthur, Switzerland run by the local ''Kunstverein''. From its beginnings, the activities of the Kunstverein Winterthur were focused on contemporary art - ...
received a substantial gift of Hamilton's prints, making the museum the largest repository of the artist's prints in the world.


Recognition

Hamilton was awarded the William and Noma Copley Foundation Award, 1960; the
John Moores Painting Prize The John Moores Painting Prize is a biennial award to the best contemporary painting, submission is open to the public. The prize is named for Sir John Moores, noted philanthropist, who established the award in 1957. The winning work and short-li ...
, 1969; the Talens Prize International, 1970; the Leone d’Oro for his exhibition in the British Pavilion at the
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
, 1993; the Arnold Bode Prize at
Documenta ''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultura ...
X, Kassel, 1997; and the Max Beckmann Prize for Painting of the City of Frankfurt, 2006. He was made a Member of the
Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...
(CH) in 2000. He was presented with a special award by The Bogside Artists of Derry at the
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...
in 2010. The School of Arts building at Oxford Brookes University is named in his honour.


Art market

Hamilton has been represented by The Robert Fraser Gallery. The Alan Cristea Gallery in London is the distributor of Hamilton's prints. His auction record is £440,000, set at Sotheby's, London, in February 2006, for ''Fashion Plate, Cosmetic Study X'' (1969) For a 2014 retrospective at the
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía The ''Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía'' ("Queen Sofía National Museum Art Centre"; MNCARS) is Spain's national museum of 20th-century art. The museum was officially inaugurated on September 10, 1992, and is named for Queen Sofía. It ...
, the government-owned museum insured 246 works of Hamilton for 115.6 million euros ($157 million) against loss or damage, according to an order published as law by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.Todd White (18 June 2014)
Artist Richard Hamilton’s Biggest Show Insured at $157 Million
''
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...
''.


References


Bibliography

* Lucy R. Lippard, ''Pop Art'', London, Thames and Hudson, 1985 * Richard Hamilton, ''Collected Words 1953-1982'', New York, Thames and Hudson, 1983 * David Robbins (ed.), ''The Independent Group: Postwar Britain and the Aesthetics of Plenty'', MIT Press, 1990 * ''Richard Hamilton'' (exhibition catalogue), London, Tate Gallery, 1992 * Etienne Lullin, Richard Hamilton, Stephen Coppel (eds.), ''Richard Hamilton: Prints and Multiples 1939-2002'', Richter, 2004 * John Richardson, Richard Cork, Richard Hamilton, ''Hamilton'', Dickinson, 2006 * Hal Foster and Alex Bacon (eds.), ''Richard Hamilton'', London, The MIT Press, 2010 * Fanny Singer
''Immaculate Conception: Richard Hamilton's digital prints''
Cambridge University Ph.D dissertation, 2013


External links


The Guardian: Obituary, ''Richard Hamilton, the original pop artist dies at 89''

Footage of Richard Hamilton who was interviewed on his 2001 Polaroid exhibition in Birmingham, UK


* ttps://archive.today/20130222010222/http://newleftreview.net/A2434 Hal Foster, On the First Pop Age, New Left Review
Richard Hamilton, Catalogue

exhibitions with Richard Hamilton

Hamilton New York 2006

Richard Hamilton works in the Tate Collection



Excerpts from a 2003 conversation with Richard Hamilton (podcast)

Richard Hamilton in the National Gallery of Australia's Kenneth Tyler Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Richard 1922 births 2011 deaths 20th-century British printmakers 20th-century English painters 21st-century English painters 21st-century English male artists Academics of the Royal College of Art Album-cover and concert-poster artists Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Alumni of the Westminster School of Art British pop artists English contemporary artists English male painters English printmakers Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Painters from London People from Pimlico Place of death missing 20th-century British military personnel 20th-century English male artists