Richard Hamilton (3) (1922–2011)

For decades the most continually provocative of British artists, Richard Hamilton (1922–2011, right) was long concerned with the great themes of Western painting. At the time of his death, he was completing plans for an exhibition at the National Gallery, London, to include the first public showing of what turned out to be his final work. Based on Balzac's short story, The Unknown Masterpiece, it depicts three masters of painting—Poussin, Courbet, and Titian—contemplating a reclining female nude and reflecting on the meaning of art. As with much of Hamilton's late work, the image was generated by computer but over-painted by hand. Knowing he would not complete it, Hamilton decided to show three preparatory versions simultaneously. In addition, he selected thirty paintings tracing the development of his art, featuring single-point perspective and the depiction of interior spaces, the sacred imagery of the Italian Renaissance, and allusions to the art of Marcel Duchamp. (National Gallery of London)… (meer)

Regularly referred to as the father of Pop Art, Richard Hamilton was an early, lively, and satirical discoverer of the art of the everyday consumer good. In the mid-50s, like many artists who were to follow in his wake, Hamilton discovered the mythic and epic elements that lurked in the contemporary world of imagery and integrated these found objects into his work. If Hamilton is best known for his collages--most especially his 1956 Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?--he has maintained a consistent interest in the art of printmaking throughout his career. His first exhibition, in 1950, featured etchings; in the early 60s he pioneered the use of silkscreens; and since 1988 he has created a world of images via the computer. This volume collects 64 years of the artist's prints on the occasion of his 80th birthday.… (meer)

In the summer of 1961, Lichtenstein embarked on a series of iconic images of women, taken directly from newspaper clippings and the romance comic books prevalent in post-war America. The anonymity of mass-produced, cheap comics helped him capture specific impressions of real life, while maintaining the necessary degree of aesthetic distance afforded by what he understood to be the "high restrictive quality of art". The "Girl" paintings, together with the war images (or "Boy" paintings), established him as the major protagonist of the American Pop Art movement. His amalgamation of text and image, high and low culture, and his strategy to involve appropriated images continues to be a rich source of inspiration for subsequent generations of artists, from Richard Prince, Jeff Koons, and Raymond Pettibon to John Currin and Elizabeth Peyton.

A conversation between Jeff Koons and Dorothy Lichtenstein opens the catalogue. The publication also brings together and exceptional collection of over 130 images of paintings, drawings, sources, and documentary photographs. Included in these images are 22 full-colored plates of the "Girl" paintings, 18 of which are featured in the exhibition. The catalogue closes with a select chronology of Roy Lichtenstein's life, pinpointing important exhibitions and occasions.

An artist's book response to the "Girl" paintings created by Richard Prince is also included as an insert.… (meer)