Gagosian Gallery announces the death of The Father of Pop Art: Richard Hamilton

David Bailey, Richard Hamilton, 2007. Silver gelatin print, 24.1 x 23.5cm. Photo: David Bailey.
Richard Hamilton, Swingeing London 67 (f) 1968-9. Acrylic, collage and aluminium on canvas, support: 673 x 851 mm frame: 848 x 1030 x 100 mm., painting. Purchased 1969.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- It is with tremendous sadness that Gagosian Gallery announces the death of Richard Hamilton, which occurred early this morning. Considered the Father of Pop, the art world has lost one of its leading figures - a hugely innovative talent and a great intellect, whose work crossed many fields: from painting to print making, sculpture to typography and collage. He was a pioneering artist of unparalleled skill, invention and lasting authority. Hamilton's fascination with the authenticity of the image in contemporary society, and the implication this has in political and moral terms has held him at the vanguard of modern art. His influence on subsequent generations of artists continues to be immeasurable. Despite his ongoing fame, Hamilton never lost the sense of humour, energy, sparkle and modesty that was his innate character. He was actively working on a major museum retrospective scheduled to travel to Los Angeles, Philadelphia, London and Madrid in 2013/14 up until a few days ago. Larry Gagosian said earlier today, "This is a very sad day for all of us and our thoughts are with Richard's family, particularly his wife Rita and his son Rod." Born in London in 1922. Studied at the Royal Academy Schools and Slade School of Fine Art. Taught at King’s College, University of Durham, from 1953 to 1966. In the 1950s Hamilton devised the exhibitions ‘Growth and Form’ and ‘Man, Machine & Motion’ for the ICA in London. He collaborated on ‘This Is Tomorrow’, for which he produced his seminal image Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? (1956). Throughout his career Hamilton has exhibited internationally. Major retrospective exhibitions have been organized by the Tate Gallery, London, 1970 and 1992, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1973, MACBA, Barcelona, and Museum Ludwig, Cologne, 2003. A few of the many solo shows to have been held since his first exhibition of paintings at the Hanover Gallery, London, 1955, are: Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 1974; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1976; Kunsthalle Bielefeld, 1978; The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 1988; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 1989; Kunstmuseum Winterthur, 1990 and 2002; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1996; and The British Museum, London, 2002. Some of the group exhibitions Hamilton has participated in include: Documenta 4, Kassel, 1968; São Paulo Bienal, 1989; Documenta X, Kassel 1997; and Shanghai Biennale, 2006. Hamilton has been awarded the William and Noma Copley Foundation Award, 1960; the John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize, 1960; the Talens Prize International, 1970; the Leone d’Oro for his exhibition in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 1993; the Arnold Bode Prize at Documenta X, Kassel, 1997; and the Max Beckmann Prize for painting, 2006. He was made Companion of Honour in 1999. Hamilton’s ‘A Host of Angels’ was exhibited in the Palazzetto Tito, as a contribution of Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa to the Venice Biennale, 2007. An extended version ‘Pixelated Angels in Virtual Spaces’ opened at the Kunsthalle Bielefeld in May 2008. In 2010, 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, Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. A retrospective by Hamilton and Rita Donagh ‘Civil Rights etc.’ is currently on view at the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane until 15 January 2012. The exhibition includes works from the 1960s to this decade that primarily relate to Ireland, but also to seminal moments of social change in recent history. The major forthcoming Richard Hamilton exhibition tour curated by Paul Schimmel and Vicente Todoli will open in the summer of 2013 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and will travel to the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Tate Modern, London; and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.

Gagosian Gallery | Father of Pop | Richard Hamilton |