Richard Hamilton 1922–2011

Associated media

Richard Hamilton has died at the age of 89. As a founder member of the Independent Group of artists, he was one of the most influential of British Pop artists, creating the collage Just What is it that Makes Today’s Homes so Different, so Appealing in 1956 as a poster to advertise the exhibition ‘This is Tomorrow’ at London’s Whitechapel Gallery. Hamilton produced a list of characteristics that would define Pop art:

Popular (designed for a mass audience)

Transient (short term solution)

Expendable (easily forgotten)

Low cost

Mass produced

Young (aimed at youth)

Witty

Sexy

Gimmicky

Glamorous

Big Business

Hamilton took a lot of inspiration from advertising, often producing humorous visual critiques of the values it expressed. Nonetheless, he did not like being described as the ‘Father of Pop’. His work was often political – in 2007/8 he produced an image of Tony Blair dressed as a cowboy and titled Shock and Awe.  A number of his political images were exhibited at London’s Serpentine Gallery in 2010. He was working right up to the time of his death.