Richard Hamilton

Richard Hamilton (1922–2011, London) is widely regarded as a founding figure of British Pop Art. His practice moved between painting, printmaking, collage, photography, and design across six decades, engaging consistently with mass media, consumer culture, advertising, politics, and the aesthetics of reproduction. His 1956 collage Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? remains one of the defining works of the Pop movement.

Hamilton held major retrospectives at the Tate Gallery, London (1970) and the Serpentine Gallery (1975), and exhibited internationally throughout his career. He was a close collaborator of Marcel Duchamp and a significant influence on subsequent generations of British artists.

This collection gathers exhibition invitations, catalogues, and printed matter relating to Hamilton’s practice.

  • Richard Hamilton, exhibition invitation recto. Serpentine Gallery, London, 1975. Black-and-white photographic reproduction of an abstract work: a gestural composition of dark fluid marks, washes, and drips on a pale ground, framed by a thin ruled border. A large organic dark form dominates the upper left, with vertical streaks and pooled marks descending toward the lower centre. Scattered smaller marks and traces throughout. Cream card with age toning, surface marks, and minor corner wear visible. Richard Hamilton, exhibition invitation recto. Serpentine Gallery, London, 1975. Black-and-white photographic reproduction of an abstract work: a gestural composition of dark fluid marks, washes, and drips on a pale ground, framed by a thin ruled border. A large organic dark form dominates the upper left, with vertical streaks and pooled marks descending toward the lower centre. Scattered smaller marks and traces throughout. Cream card with age toning, surface marks, and minor corner wear visible.

    Richard Hamilton — Private View Invitation, Serpentine Gallery, 1975

    Richard Hamilton — Private View Invitation, Serpentine Gallery, 1975