Artist Database

Richard Hamilton, born in London in 1922, was one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century and a pioneering figure in the development of Pop Art.

Hamilton studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 1938 to 1940 before training in engineering draughtsmanship and working as a jig and tool designer. He returned to the Royal Academy Schools in 1946 but was expelled for “not profiting from the instruction being given in the painting school.” He later studied at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1948 to 1951.

His early work was influenced by D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson’s On Growth and Form (1913), which explored the mathematical structures underlying natural forms. Hamilton developed these ideas through exhibitions including Growth and Form at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in 1951 and Man, Machine and Motion in 1955.

As a member of the Independent Group during the 1950s, Hamilton helped establish the intellectual foundations of British Pop Art. He challenged the distinction between fine art and popular culture, drawing inspiration from advertising, consumer products, photography, technology and mass media.

Throughout his career, Hamilton worked across painting, collage, printmaking, photography and digital media. His constant experimentation with new technologies and popular imagery had a lasting influence on contemporary art, making him a key figure in the transformation of twentieth-century visual culture.