1922-2011
Richard Hamilton is a painter and collage artist who was born in London in 1922 and studied at the Royal Academy School from 1938 to 1940. He returned to the Royal Academy School in 1946 after having left to study engineering draughtsmanship at a Government Training Centre, however he was expelled on grounds of “not profiting from the instruction” and subsequently enrolled at the Slade School of Art from 1948 to 1951.
During the 50s and 60s Hamilton often incorporated themes of consumer society into his work and his ‘Man, Machine and Motion’ exhibition in 1955 along with his 1956 collage, ‘Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?’ is widely regarded by many art historians to be some of the earliest works of pop art. Hamilton taught at the London Central School of Arts and Crafts and University of Newcastle upon Tyne until he retired from teaching full-time in 1966.
Hamilton was always willing to adapt and incorporate new technology into art and started producing computer-generated images in the 1989s. He had a long career as a printmaker and won the World Print Council award in 1983 and in 1991 he married fellow artist Rita Donagh. Hamilton received many awards throughout his career, including the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 2000 and a special award presented to him by The Bogside Artists of Derry at the Royal College of Art in 2010.
