Hamilton, Richard

Hamilton, Richard (b London, 24 Feb. 1922).
British painter, printmaker, teacher, exhibition organizer, and writer, one of the leading pioneers of Pop art. As a young man he worked in advertising and commercial art and he is best known for his montages featuring scenes from the fields of advertisement and contemporary life, notably Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing? (1956, Kunsthalle, Tübingen), which is sometimes considered to be the first Pop art work. Hamilton has had a distinguished career as a teacher, notably at King's College, Newcastle upon Tyne (which later became Newcastle University), 1953–66, and has organized several exhibitions, including ‘The Almost Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp’ at the Tate Gallery, London, in 1966. An anthology of his writings, Collected Works, appeared in 1982. His second wife (whom he married in 1991) is the painter Rita Donagh (1939– ). See also Independent Group.